Gods May Cry
by Axelkin
Summary: When beings clad in white invade their world, Ichigo and Uryu are taken to the a strange place covered in a continues darkness. No longer able to use their powers, they must come to terms with who they are to each other in order to find a way to break the hold on their world and escape the impending doom of Midnight. AU to the Blood War Arc.
1. Decent to Midnight

A/N: There is much I need to do to my old fiction here on FFN. But in the mean time, this little bunny-gem has been swimming in my head for quite some time. I guess I just needed to write something that was a little more... me. Normally I'm a dark fantasy/SciFi and Urban Fantasy writer, but you wouldn't know that by reading of my FFN. There is also a lack of... real "romance" in my original works. So... I guess you can say this is what happens when I mix the two. I have also made some very big decisions on my writing style over the past few months I've been inactive from FFN.

For all disclaimers and more info, please visit my profile. This fic also has nothing to do with "Devil May Cry" except for the name issue. I just like to play with words... This also ignores the current Blood War arc but has characters from the arc. Instead it is a AU of that time frame. Updates are always erratic and unpredictable.

Enjoy.

* * *

Gods May Cry

1-Decent to Midnight

_Run, Uryu._ Fear is gripping. It steals away the breath and will of those it ensnares. _Just run away._ But he can't. His legs are heavy; they drag as he moves to stand next to his sobbing friend who is chanting a name. There's something he must do, something he must stop. It is as powerful as the need to flee. He tries to call out; he wants to tell him. _You can't. You won't forgive yourself if you do this._ A monster is taking hold. The white and red masked horns drip with venomous orange.

Then it's gone, just the overpowering feeling to escape. Everything else stays. Uryu's heart still races until it leaps in a sharp jolt. It pulsates, filling him with a searing, blinding heat. The feeling is very familiar. Like the day he drew his arrows, taking in the flames and letting them soar towards their crying release. The sky was too blue, just like the one he can see now. And everything hurts. His fingers sting, chest tightens and legs are heavy as lead. There is an ache, low and deep inside of him, yearning to be touched, caressed, to be plucked out of him as the feeling increased, threatening to overflow inside. Yet there is only one thing he can think of as he stares at the long black blade filling his view. _You can't die here. I won't let you._

So the blade rests, erect and buried inside his sternum; it stands out against the sky like ink spilled on pure parchment. _There's no clouds._ Uryu notes that the days are much too similar. Beyond the howl, footsteps approach. He lies still. The heat is already starting to slip away. But Uryu is used to it and knows how to stave off the feeling to fall asleep. He hasn't lost much blood yet as the sword is still embedded inside him. Slowing his breathing to save energy, he awaits whoever is drawing near.

He actually expects to see the grinning bone covered face with the long burning orange banner behind it, cackling with madness and joy. Instead, the moon wanes in black smoky flames and he looks up into those sharp eyes that remind him of a rainbow made of chocolate, caramel and flecks of mint. Uryu tries to speak. _K-Kur-sa-_ Nothing escapes his chapped lips that are burnt from the dry air. Again, it isn't him.

_"Ishida Uryu,"_ It's impossible for the man before him to be speaking. He is now completely covered in layers of gray carapace. A part of him wants to reach out and tear it away from the golden skin. Just like the mask, he wants to watch it crumble away. _"What is it that you want?"_

His breathing picks up again. He is loosing control. _You can't die here. I won't let you._ The inky fringe sways behind the man's waist in a breeze Uryu doesn't feel.

_"Tell me,"_ Why can't he breathe? Doesn't anyone notice the sword sticking out of his body? _"What do you want?"_

Uryu doesn't get the chance to answer. And even if he could he wasn't sure what he'd say. The bandaged hand grips the handle, heaving the long black blade out of him. There is nothing but emptiness. The man kneels beside him, holding the sword as if deciding if he is going to use it again.

_"Ishida Uryu,"_ Panic flows just like his blood. _I can't..._ He needs to stop the bleeding. _"Tell me,"_ Why isn't the Shinigami doing anything? Why can't he speak? Why? _"What do you want?"_

That is everything. _What I want? I want- I want-_

* * *

Uryu gasps. Flinging himself upright, he franticly paws at his shirt to get to his stomach. There's nothing but the lone bump of flesh over an old wound and the memory of dark and sticky liquid seeping from his body. The archer sighs, falling back into the folds of his bed. He has this dream far too often. The one where the fierce hollow stabs him. His fingers and toes tingle slightly at the memory. It always feels the same. Every time he is touched by Kurosaki Ichigo's reitsu it burns inside of him. The Menos, Zangetsu's blade... All of it ignites the darkest of nights. There's a desire that aches for release. Uryu blinks even though he is blind without his glasses and it isn't morning yet, the sun is still sunk bellow the hem of nightfall.

"Fuck," He curses quietly, although he wouldn't ever do so in front of anyone else. Especially after realizing the ache is very much real and very much between his thighs. There's a flare of energy nearby. It's untamable and wild, bright in the slow during the hours of darkness. Uryu shuts his eyes tightly and attempts to ignore it all, lying very still in bed. _Stupid fucking Shinigami._ Why can't the latter learn to control his reitsu? Actually, Ichigo knew how to tame his energy. The idiot just didn't try to keep his hold on the reigns. It made things... difficult for Uryu. It was nerve wracking and down right annoying. And he was sure that he was the only one suffering from it too. He didn't know why though.

He is used to the pain now. It no longer bothers him as it did before. But he waits the half hour for Ichigo's flaring reitsu to die down, taking his unwarranted body's reaction with it. Uryu sighs in relief. Granted he will be a little sore, but it was better than relieving himself while thinking... of _him._ Rolling over on his side, he tries to fall asleep again. But like most nights, once he starts thinking about Ichigo, he can't stop. His brow knits deeply into a scowl very much like the person he tries very hard not to think about. _Damn it. I hate you, Kurosaki!_ Yes, he hates him, every little detail about him. And what he hates most is how he can't seem to let go of it all.

* * *

The river plays a quite song over the low rocky bed accompanied by the soft gurgle of a tiny fall. This place has always been a comfort for him. Here Uryu had learned so much about him self. Once as a child he had ran from home. His father's grinding words of distrait about his mother teaching him to sew and how detrimental of a skill it was for a young man it was. It was a woman's task. He needed not to indulge in such a famine hobby that a wife would later bring into his life. The words were cold and static and his mother no longer there to be the voice of reason. _"It steadies the hand. His bow will fly straighter and his grip will be stronger."_ Of course Uryu didn't understand those words then. Even when his grandfather began tutoring him in archery, which later turned into using his Quincy abilities, he did not fully understand.

But in the tiny serene grove, Uryu learned more then he ever thought possible. He learned how to pull his bow with the least resistance but produce a fast, strong and dependable arrow. It was full of memories. Many memories he wouldn't share with just anyone.

There Uryu stood, barefoot in the middle of the stream, practicing. It felt good to gather about the frazzled reitsu and release his pent up energy, peacefully and at his own pace. Here there was no need to worry, the feeling of the cool water running through his toes and the soft earth bellow them coupled with the last warm breeze of the year playing on his face and pulling his hair back was intoxicating. He could close his eyes and let everything flow out of him like his arrows, speeding away, fast, strong and gracefully.

"I thought you might be here."

Uryu opened his eyes quickly. Slowly he lowered his bow and turning with a scowl. Of course Kurosaki Ichigo knew how to control his reitsu. Otherwise he would have noticed the Shinigami approaching and had left before he could be found. Now he stood barefoot and caught off guard quite a distance from his shoes.

Ichigo's eyes followed his gaze to his pair of sneakers by the bank. _Just my luck..._ Uryu sighed and let his bow dematerialize. The elegant white and blue creation lifted away leaving his hand empty and cold. He contemplated on using Hirenkyaku; after all, Ichigo was in his human body and probably couldn't keep up. Instead he watched Ichigo walk up to his shoes and pick them up. "You're gonna get a cold if you keep standing there, Ishida."

He sighed. Carefully he waded through the little pebbles and soft clay. Ichigo followed his path along the bank to a pile of rocks where Uryu lifted himself up to sit. Silence followed even when Uryu took his shoes from Ichigo. As he replaced them over his feet, the Shinigami shifted his weight and looked as though he was chewing on the inside of his lip.

"What do you want, Kurosaki?" He couldn't help but feel as though he was quoting his own nightmares to the young man who spoke those same words. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

Azure shifted over the silver frames before he reached up and adjusted them. "I have no reason to spend time with you."

Ichigo frowned. _How every characteristic... _"That's not what I meant."

"What do you mean then?" His voice strained at the sarcasm and he pinched his eyes closed from a moment. Uryu's patience is wearing thin.

"I don't even see you Hollow hunting anymore."

"You suck at sensing reitsu." He commented. "Don't think you always get them all."

"Stop dodging my question!" Uryu glanced over the agitated Shinigami. Jaw clenched, pulling the taut muscles along Ichigo's neck, eyes narrowed and piercing, and most of all, the broad shoulders restricted in a shirt that he was going to grow out of soon. It was all too close and Ichigo was loosing control over his reitsu again. "You ignore me during class, you don't even eat lunch with us anymore, you will deliberately walk the other way if I'm nearby when a hollow appears. You, are, ignoring, me! Hell, you're not even paying attention to what I'm saying now!"

He blinked. The flare of reitsu was heavy, dense like a storm cloud ready to burst. Uryu could hardly breathe and when he did, it went places he didn't want it to. "I hate you, Kurosaki." He exhaled out. Pushing off the rock he managed to slide away from the form looming over him.

"The hell, Ishida!" There was a low growl in Ichigo's voice. "Don't just walk away from me!"

Something warm and rough grabbed his upper arm, keeping him from moving away. "Let go of me!"

Uryu pulled, attempting to turn around and use Hirenkyaku at the same time to get away. It turned out to be a bad choice as halfway through the step he noticed that Ichigo hadn't let go. The Shinigami's footing was thrown off balance and they staggered, falling over several feet away in an ungraceful manner. The breath was knocked out of Uryu as his head hit the grass and a heavy body impacted with his chest. It took several seconds before he regained control over his limbs again and he attempted to shove the other off of him.

"Get off me you moron!"

His elbow landed a hit into Ichigo's side. "Ow!"

The Shinigami lifted himself up and Uryu scrambled to get up. Again he judged too quickly and as he lifted his leg to push himself out from under the other he brushed up against Ichigo's thigh and felt something firm poking into him. Both froze. Uryu was quite sure he was breathing way to hard along with his racing mind and heart at the way the reitsu wavered uncertainly around them. Ichigo looked paled from worry and started to open his mouth to say something. Then his leg started vibrating. Or to be more precise, the stiff object resting on his thigh started vibrating followed by a distinct chime. They both moved quickly away from each other, Ichigo clearing his throat as he pulled out his phone and Uryu adjusting his glasses back into place. He saw the confused look on Ichigo's face just before answering, catching his attention.

"Ah, hello? Inoue?" The Shinigami's voice sounded a little awkward. As if he was a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Ichigo cringed at the loud, upset, high-pitched voice shrilling over the tiny phone speaker. Uryu couldn't help but grin slightly at the way Ichigo pulled away from the phone for a moment. "Oi! Slow down, I can't understand you." The sound died away and Uryu could no longer hear the young woman's voice. He sighed as Ichigo seemed silent except for a few acknowledgement sounds in answer to whatever it was being said. _Probably forgot to meet her somewhere._ A frown pulled his lips down. Why should he even care? It wasn't like everyone didn't know about Orihime's affection for the said orange haired Shinigami. "You're sure?" A small pause, "Okay, okay! Huh? Oh, ah, Ishida? Um..." Attention returning to him, the archer suddenly realized that he was still there, much to the surprise of both of them. Uryu turned his gaze away but not before he saw what looked like the stain of embarrassment painting it's way onto the other's cheeks. "Yeah, how did you know?" Another sharp shrill rang out from the speaker. "Alright! I'll ask! Ishida,"

Uryu jumped a little, palms pressing hard against the grass. He could feel the tiny blades leaving impressions in his skin. "W-what?" He was fairly sure his voice cracked a little.

"Inoue says there's some strange Hollows appearing in town. You don't sense anything do you?" Ichigo lowered his phone, the light died showing the end of the call. "I do still have some problems sensing if I don't know what I'm looking for."

"Uh, hold on." Closing his eyes, Uryu tried to concentrate on any sort of Hollow presence. "No, I don't." He frowned.

"Hmm," Ichigo stood, brushing off his clothes. "Maybe we should check it out anyways."

For a moment Uryu thought of declining the passive request. _Just make something up. _But he couldn't think of anything. There was no reason for him not to go. Ichigo was staring at his soul badge by the time he got up off the ground. "What's wrong?"

"It's not working."

Uryu shook his head in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean 'not working'?"

"See?" Ichigo pressed the wooden Shinigami skull against his chest. "Nothing." He continued to frown.

"Maybe it's broken?" After a moment of inspection, Uryu shrugged and Ichigo sighed heavily.

"I don't have Kon with me either."

Uryu adjusted his glasses. "It can't be helped then. I'll go myself."

"Hey! Ishida, no wait! Let me- Why are you just standing there?" It was true, the archer stood there firmly planted in the same spot as before. Uryu expected that the Shinigami would say such a think and prepared to use Hirenkyaku to get away quickly. But for some reason, he just ended up just standing there. Ichigo crossed his arms and looked him up and down. "Did you just try to use Hiakaryaki?"

"_Hirenkyaku_, and shut up, Kurosaki." He glared at the same time he felt his face flare with heat. Clearing his throat, he pushed his glasses up. "Get it right anyways. It's your heritage too."

"Hey, I don't even know German. Give me some credit."

"You didn't even get the first syllable right."

Ichigo tossed his head back and grabbed his head in frustration. "Why do you always have to be so technical? German is completely different from Japanese! I mean the way you speak isn't even remotely close! Are they always spitting or some shit?"

It was unnormal for Uryu to be quite in such an argument. But he was distracted by the strange white object crawling along the cliff that ran along the grove. "Uh, Kurosaki."

"I know, I know, 'German is in your blood, Kurosaki. Get used to it.'" Ichigo attempted to use the same tone of voice Uryu usually used during their arguments making him sound almost childish. "Hey, are you even listening? What're you looking at?"

Uryu shook his head and shrugged. "Whatever the hell that is." He pointed up at the object skittering along the rocky wall. They both stood looking at the thing curiously, previous conversation forgotten. Uryu squinted, trying to see it better. Just as he thought that it looked a little too humanoid to be moving like that, he got a bad feeling. "Kurosaki, watch out!"

He reached out and grabbed the Shinigami's arm, pulling them both away from where they had been standing. They landed only a foot away just in time as a strange energy ripped through the air and scorched the ground. The grass sparked and died away. "Oi!" Ichigo said through his coughing. They picked themselves up; Uryu no longer caring that the Shinigami had fell partially on top of his legs in their mild escape. "Was that a cero?"

_It couldn't be. It doesn't look like a typical Hollow or an Arrancar. Nor was it in a beam._ All of the sudden a loud screeching noise that sounded like a mix between a yowl and a cry echoed rang through the valley. It scratched at the inside of Uryu's head, making his ears itch and his throat dry. _Oh my god, make it stop!_ Beside him, Ichigo was pressing his palms over his ears and cringing. Lifting his arm, he concentrated on the energy around him. He felt it gather around into a warmth that filled the pit of his stomach. It grew as Uryu pulled at the surrounding reishi to summon his bow. Light was about bend and the elegant piece of physical energy grace his long fingers that flowed like lace over silk. But nothing came. Instead, the world stayed exactly the same and the creature howled it strange cry.

He cursed under the horrifying sound that made his veins prickle. Running to the river he brought himself closer to the strange creature. He picked up a rock and hurled it, hitting the thing square in the head. It squawked a yelp. Without loosing it's footing it scampered around in tiny little circles. But it had stopped making the piercing noise. His ears rang slightly. Even Ichigo looked as though he was still affected by the beasts call. But he looked over at Uryu with gratitude.

"You okay?" Uryu asked once he reached Ichigo who was nursing his ears.

"Yeah, you?"

He nodded. It was definitely the strangest thing he had ever came across, and they knew strange. _We should leave._ But before Uryu could suggest it, the creature made another sound. Almost like a dog greeting a master.

"Good boy. You found them."

The hair on Uryu's body stood up. He turned quickly to see a man with long blonde hair dressed in white petting the creature.

"The fuck do you mean by that?" Ichigo was saying. The man looked down at them from his place in the sky. He looked indifferent, neither upset nor affected by the Shinigami's words, just stared at them.

"Kurosaki..." Every fiber in Uryu's body was alive with fear. He didn't know who the man was or why he wore ancient Quincy garb. All he knew was something was going to happen.

"What?"

"I think we should run."

Ichigo looked dumbstruck at his words. Almost like he was someone else. "W-what?! Why?"

The beast yipped loudly, bringing their attention back to the duo. The man smiled. "Yes, Crucifer. Go, get them." It made a strange sound that was something between a laugh and a sigh before jumping down towards them.

Uryu was already racing for the trees that encircled the other side of grove. He could hear Ichigo beside him, breath heavy and deep like his own. _Why didn't it work?_ Neither of them seemed to have their powers. But it wasn't like when he had completely lost his years ago. It felt suppressed, crushed under a weight of a seal tightly waxed. Uryu tried to form his bow again, but nothing came. He couldn't even feel the reishi around him. It felt like he was inside a bottle, his lungs burning to fill of the reishi that encircled them, never touching, only hovering as if on the other side of a glass film. _Wait... that means I won't be able to feel Kurosaki's..._

He landed face first into the ground, tripping on an upturned root. "Ishida!" Uryu groaned; he let himself become distracted by something so trivial.

Looking up, he saw Ichigo turning around to come to his aid. A snarl purred over his ears and halfway back up, something his him in the shoulder blades hard. He landed back on the ground. Strange paw like hands dug into his back and he felt tiny claws cut through his shirt and scrape his skin. Uryu cried out. It stung, making him feel dizzy.

"Get off him!" The Shinigami was holding something in his hand. Uryu thought it might be a branch, it certain looked crooked and brown.

He tried to make eye contact with the fierce hazel. Yet he could barely make out the burnt orange. _Did I loose my glasses?_ Uryu tried to throw the creature off him back. "No," He gasped when the shard nails sliced across his skin again. "K-Kurosaki, just-" Was he even speaking? The figure moved closer and his vision blurred more. Colors swirled together as if he was under water. "Just- RUN!"

* * *

The world is black, a darkness that was never ending. It encased him like a coffin, the only world he was left to. But he could hear something. Scrapping along in a muffled echo. It hissed and rumbled like a beast searching for its next meal. And all Uyru could do was lie there and become the prey.

"Good job, Hasch-... the more the better."

"... These two... fought... wasn't easy..."

"Hmm... Wait..."

"Yhw- Do you think?... No..."

"... can't be confirmed... but..."

"They... more problems... will find each- ... no matter..."

"You know where to put them."

Then silence enveloped his world of nothingness. He could not even think, as his world seemed to fold in on itself, layering in more emptiness except for the searing cold on his left wrist. It caught him by surprise. He gasped for air, he wanted out, he wanted-

* * *

"Ishida!" Someone was shaking him. Uryu groaned as he rolled over onto his back. Pain returned and spark flecked behind his eyes. "Careful,"

Those same hands pulled him away, raising him into a sitting position. Cracking open his eyes, a bright light greeted him. He winced, letting out a grunt of discomfort. "I can't see."

"Here,"

Cool metal slid behind his ears. It made him jump at the sudden realization that someone was putting his glasses on for him. He blinked once, twice, and the world started to come back to him. The room was completely white. A tiny little box that was three times as tall as it was wide. Orange stood out over the pristine clean color. "K-Kurosaki?" He tested his own voice.

The Shinigami cracked a smile; Uryu noted the split lip and the flaking blood dried to the point of loosing it's color that stuck in his hair and forehead. "You were out a while." He didn't say it, but the archer had a feeling that Ichigo was glad he was awake.

"What happened? Where are we?"

A frown answered his questions. "I- I'm not sure exactly."

Flexing his shoulders, the skin pulled taut signifying the beginning of healing. He mirrored Ichigo's frown. That would have to mean he had been out for quite some time, at least two days. But there was no signs that they were put in the box like room when they were still significantly hurt. "How long was I out?"

"Dunno," Ichigo shrugged, "I woke up about... half an hour ago. It's kinda hard to tell in here."

Uryu sighed; it was not much help at all. But there was no point in dwelling on such things. He stood up. First thing was to figure a way out. His legs must have been bruised in the struggle against the beast and hurt to stand. The room wobbled and his vision wavered and spun slightly.

"Hey! You okay?"

His skin jolted at the callused touch. Hands shaped into wielding a heavy sword had toughened with age and practice. It wasn't so much that Ichigo was touching him per say, but the fact that he shouldn't be able to 'feel' any reitsu from the contact. That was when he realized that it was something else. Something that was inside him that had reacted. He stood straight quickly, raising his hand to push his glasses back in place to hide the surprised look on his face. Then _it_ came into view. "What in the hell is this?!"

'It' was a small silver bracelet. There were no breaks or casting lines, just a smooth piece of rounded metal roughly the width of his thumb. He reached over with his other hand and pulled on it. "I've already tried." Ichigo spoke as he yanked on the offensive bracelet. "They won't come off."

Uryu huffed, letting go of the piece of jewelry. He would have to live with it until he could find a way to remove it. "You have one too then?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah." He lifted his left arm for the archer to see. It was exactly the same. Even the size was the same.

When the two pieces came close, the room shook, throwing them off balance. Uryu slid over towards a wall and placed his hands on it to steady himself. Something clicked and a shimmering light appeared, rolling over them as if scanning for something.

"Registering identities." A female voice spoke in a monotone voice from nowhere. The light stopped and it felt as if they had started to descend. " Categorizing residence."

"Did it just say residence?" Ichigo blurted out.

"Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryu,"

"Forget that, Kurosaki. How does it know our names?"

"15 Eclipse Lane." The voice continued, oblivious to their conversation. Suddenly the room jolted to a stop and remained still. "Welcome to Midnight."

Whatever 'Midnight' meant did not matter when the wall seemed to lift up without warning, painting what lied beyond the tiny, white box. The night sky waned a bright half moon, pouring it's light over a cityscape. It looked like downtown to a relatively large city but laid out much more like the Seriate in the Soul Society. Uryu started when Ichigo nudge his arm, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. It was then that he realized that they were still up high, the box resting on a strange black platform that glowed a light blue along the edges. It seemed as though it was asking for the pair to step forward.

"Well?" Ichigo asked.

Uryu sighed, shrugging in defeat. "It's better then being stuck inside a box." They stepped out onto the waiting platform. It too pulled away with a sharp jerk, causing a still unsteady Uryu to grab onto the Shinigami's arm for support. Ichigo didn't seem to mind and said nothing and allowed him to grip his arm tightly. Uryu sorely wished he had something else to hold on to but was glad for the cover of darkness for once. He looked back to see their box, which looked dark on the outside, seal back up and disappear into the night's sky. Neither spoke, as they descended down into the city of nightfall. Finally, after seeing the majority of the eerily dark, yet lit buildings scattered in a feudal display of familiarity, Uryu spoke. "Kurosaki... I think _this_ is supposed to be Midnight."


	2. The Space Between

A/N: Ok, not sure how long this is going to end up being. I'm pretty much making this all up as I go. lol. Still trying to figure out when and introduce certain things, like how they lost their powers. I do hope you guys don't mind as I show off some of the world they are in. :) I think it's an intriguing one and I really want to explore it as they do.

Also I will be trying my best to switch between Ichigo and Uryu's POV every chapter. Although I'm having a bit more difficultly writing Ichigo's POV. :/ So let's see what happens shall we?

Ah yes, I added a cover photo to this. I spent a little time sketching out how I see the cityscape of Midnight. My mind truly does see the world differently. :)

* * *

2- The Space Between

How redundant it is to think life was normal. Perhaps it can never be as simple in a fantastical world filled with humans and spirits with unique abilities. Ichigo should have known never to trust that they would be able to live out life the way others were supposed to. He should not even be surprised as he stood next to Uryu, moon looming over a city of nightfall. Yet he was. The cityscape speckled the ground with tiny little colored light blinking from each one. They twinkled just like a mirror reflecting the heavens.

Ichigo swallowed; he was terrified, frightened more then he had ever been in his entire life. The look of panic in normally bright and electric blue had twisted him inside. What had he thought? A branch against a strange humanoid like animal they knew nothing about? Even Uryu had understood the feudality against it, his voice had been filled with a pleading tone to flee and leave him. _'Just- RUN!'_ But he couldn't let Uryu be alone. Not after all they had been through; the years to the thing they could now call the beginning of a friendship.

The creature's claws seemed to have venom in them, yellow puss erupting from even the lightest of scratches. And the cero like energy, well Ichigo was thankful Uryu hadn't experienced that. The light shattered everything around him into tiny mirrors cutting into him as he watched his reflection in horror, only to awaken in pain and caked in dirt and blood. Now at the sight of what an artificial sounding voice referred to as 'Midnight' he was glad that he hadn't left Uryu to suffer this fate alone. The straining grip from normally firm hands told him everything. Ichigo was their strength, he could not fear, he could not fail to free the bonds of the crying soul next to him. He was never good at sensing reitsu, but if the lack of pressure like feeling bother him, there was no telling what it felt like for Uryu. They were powerless in a world that seemed to ebb domination over everything. Without such a fundamental aspect of their lives gone, there was only one thing left. They had each other.

"Midnight..." The Shinigami repeated the word as if it held some sort of significance. Yet it eluded him. "Why 'Midnight'?"

He felt Uryu shrug through a shiver. They had not reached the ground yet, gliding softly through the cold air on a platform that looked like it was made of black stained glass. "Who knows," The archer spoke, still shaking slightly. Ichigo was not sure if it was from the cold or his weakened state. "But it sure looks like it's in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, but why name a city after a time of day? It's not always going to be night." He pulled at the sleeves of the light gray hoodie had was wearing. The arms were a little tore up from being caught in the strange beast's cero earlier and a bit dirty but it kept the cold away. "Are you cold?" He could even feel it nipping angrily, snarling past them as they were lowered through the invisible growling teeth.

"What?" He replied sharply. A slender hand reached up to slide the silver, wire-framed glasses back up a long nose. "N-no, why would I be cold?"

Ichigo sighed. Of course this was Uryu that he asked. He should expect nothing less. The platform continued to whiz through the snapping air currents, seeming to be content with the newfound silence between them and finally lowered them closer to the ground. It didn't give them a chance to step off; instead it headed straight for the tiled ground, becoming one with the strange, smooth surface. Immediately, Uryu let go of his arm as if he burned them. The streets were empty. No one was there to see them land with the piece of floating glass. "Uh, should we look around?"

Uryu fidgeted with his other bracelet, the pentacle on a tiny silver chain. The archer was probably pleased that it was still there regardless of their lack of abilities. "Normally I would say yes. But in our current state of..." Ichigo noticed how the other looked him over and quickly look away, hiding his face like raven wings. But not he only had one wing and it was a complete mess. "Let's check out the 'resident' that voice said to us."

Ichigo nodded, that sounded like a good start. At the very least find a place to clean up and rest. "What was it again?"

"15 Eclipse Lane." Uryu answered quickly. "Honestly, don't you pay attention?"

"Well, I kinda had other things on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Keeping us alive."

Those normally judging sapphire like eyes widened slightly. His choice of words had not gone unnoticed. "Ah, at least I remembered then." The archer blinked and was back to his normal self. They started off towards the nearest intersection. Pulling off his jacket, Ichigo handed it outward. "I said I'm not cold." His cheeks were flush with pink, even noticeable in the unlit street.

"You're back is all cut up, Ishida. I doubt we're alone in this city judging by the way the lights in the towers turn on and off. Eventually we're going to run into people. I don't think we want them to notice all those scratches." Uryu just gawked back. _See, I'm just as observant..._ Perhaps it was the fact that he was relying on everything else that he had indeed noticed such a thing.

Uryu cleared his throat and eyed the worn article of clothing before hesitantly reaching out for it. "Are they really that bad?" His voice trailed off, hitting the Shinigami in the gut. Seeing his expression, Uryu shook his head. "You don't have to tell me."

"Maybe we can find a store and get some dressing supplies."

But there were no shops; only tall pillar like buildings that looked like homes, each solid except for door like indentions on each one. The different colored lights came from panels that were roughly the size of windows. A low hum radiated through the glass tiles beneath their feet. Street names were elegantly chiseled into the raised curbs that lined the blocks. _Star Gaze Road, Celestial Way, Astral Avenue... All the streets have names that sound so... _

"Ethereal."

Ichigo jumped at Uryu's voice. "Huh?"

For the first time, the Quincy turned and faced him, brushing his tangled bangs out of his eyes. "Don't the names seem too ethereal for such a dark place?"

"Now that you mention it." He was going to say like someone who was infatuated with space named them. "But what about where we're headed, 'Eclipse'?"

"It was only a thought." A shrug followed.

Ichigo frowned to himself. _Usually Ishida's calculated about everything he says. Maybe not being able to use his powers are affecting him too._ He studied his normally graceful companion in this faint moonlight which seemed so clear high above but only a mist bellow. Aside from the obvious rugged appearance, Uryu looked like, well Uryu. Nothing looked out of place about his comrade. Although they had both grown into their youthful bodies quite well, tall, distinct muscles, and sharp features, Ichigo was still bulkier. And his jacket a size too large for the other, making Uryu look smaller then he actually was. He even had to fold the sleeves up a few times to keep them above his wrists and showing off the silver jewelry. They danced in what little light there was, glimmering like tiny diamonds on velvet.

"Oh look," Uryu stopped, jolting the Shinigami from his thoughts. "Eclipse Lane." The block was tiny, only one building, but three times as long as the others had been but half as tall stood before them. Slowly they approached the door impression. "How do you think we get in?"

"How about pushing on it?"

"Don't be silly, Kurosaki. You're supposed to pull on doors to open them."

"I don't see a handle do you?" Uryu sighed, closing his eyes as Ichigo glared at him. Yet somehow he didn't really _feel_ angry. It was almost like it was forced so they could have some sort of familiarity in this odd world.

"This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Well, I could always kick it in." He offered with a half grin.

"Kurosaki!"

Ichigo chuckled. And suddenly he saw a small twitch pull the corners of Uryu's lips upward. "Ishida! Are you smiling?"

The other coughed, hiding behind his hand to push his glasses up. _Seriously, does he have to do that all the time?_ He just wanted to snatch at that hand and pull it away. "You're imagining things."

"No, you were about to smile." Ichigo was not sure why his chest felt like it was floating but it did.

"C-can we just figure out how to get in please?"

He noticed the tired strain in the archer's voice and nodded. Stepping forward, he inspected the indentations. It was lined slightly with the same odd blue glow like the rest of the world seemed to have. Ichigo reached out and ran a finger along the edge. Then he saw it, a tiny place next to the door that looked a little lighter then the rest. "Ishida, look."

Uryu leaned in to look at the hand-sized panel. "Try pushing it?"

"I thought you were supposed to pull to open." He was rewarded with a sigh and a weary glare. Reaching out, Ichigo did just that and pressed the panel like a large button. At first nothing happened, then it slid open in the same manner as the box they had been held in did.

Inside was dull. The walls looked like grids of blue lines on dark gray. They glowed like everything else. "Oh hello!" A voice called out. It surprised both of them, as it was the first person they had come across. "You must be new here!" They were greeted by a generally happy looking gentleman who stood behind a counter. He looked to be a few years their senior and had shoulder length blond hair. And his icy blue eyes seemed to glitter with the same smile.

"Um... how did you..." The Shinigami noticed the awkward tone Uryu had used and stepped in front passively.

"Sorry, we were told to come here." Ichigo offered.

"Of course! You two will want to rest and... clean up." The man seemed to notice the state of their clothing. Everything else seemed so crisply pressed and immaculate. The man even looked so well groomed that he was waiting for a photoshoot. "I'm sure you're glad to be away from whatever Zone you came from."

"Zone?" Uryu asked as now they were both up near the counter.

They were given a concerned look before it turned down to something under the counter. "Um, let's see. Room 15."

"We didn't even give you our names yet."

"It's been a while since people have been sent to Eclipse Lane. In some Zones the rules may change but not here."

A young girl that could pass off as the man's sister came into view from a door behind the counter. She handed him something and he proceeded to place it on the counter within their reach. The tiny silver item was flat and long with tiny holes stamped through one end and one large one on the other. Obviously it had to be a key. Ichigo picked it up and inspected it.

"Do we only get one?"

"Yes."

"Why?" The girl squeaked at the harsh tone.

Ichigo looked up to see a very agitated Quincy and slightly anxious apartment manager. "Ishida..." He tested slowly, causing the scorn to turn on him. "I don't think he can tell us."

After a moment, Uryu let out a long, looking even more drained then before. He hadn't noticed the dark circles lining the brilliant blue until now and the dirt and stained clothing was wrinkled. Right now Ishida Uryu looked worse then his bad days. And Ichigo had seen those. "Sorry." The man looked relived.

Nodding once, he placed his free hand on the archer's shoulder and moved them away. "C'mon, let's go."

"Second floor." The man offered as they started off towards the odd looking stairs. There was what looked to be an elevator, but after being stuck in a box for god knows how long, neither wanted to use it.

With care, they made their way to the door label 15. Unlike the front door, there was a place to slide the key into and turn instead of pushing on a pad. It slid open to expose the room before them. There was a sense of nostalgia here unlike the rest of what they had seen. The walls and floor a warm tan with tile in the entryway. Although, Ichigo had a feeling Uryu wouldn't complain about keeping it spotless at this point. The main room was lush with a deep Quincy blue. And they seemed to be blessed with a tiny kitchen and of course a full bathroom. Uryu frowned at the last room they went to inspect. "There's only one bed." _Of all the things he would complain about._

Ichigo shrugged, "It's got more than enough room. Besides, we have a couch in the main room." He paused, hoping that he wouldn't have to spend too many nights on a narrow sleeping space. _What're you thinking? It's not like you haven't slept in worse places before. And I seriously doubt Ishida is going to be okay with sharing the bed regardless of how big it is. _Uryu turned away and entered the bathroom. An uncomfortable heat rose to his face. "Uh right, clean up."

Drawers clicked open and shut. Inspecting a wall he noticed two columns of drawers. They reacted to being pressed in, clicking in the same sound coming from the bathroom. Ichigo was surprised to find clothing that looked to fit them both. He placed them on a tiny tan table and peaked through the doorway. "I found us some clothes. What about you?"

Uryu rose slowly and gestured towards the counter surrounding a sink. "How convenient." Everything needed to treat their wounds was laid out waiting for use. "Kurosaki... I really don't like this."

* * *

"Son of a bitch!"

Uryu grunted at him. "Stay still then."

Ichigo sighed. _He's just trying to get me back for having to clean those scratches all over his back, I swear. _Then again neither of them had to dress wounds this serious in a long time. Normally Orhime or a Shinigami had healed them with their gifts or at a medical ward. And it just so happened that Ichigo had gotten a deep enough cut on the inside of his right arm that required stitching. He bit his lip, looking upward and away from the wound. Ichigo gnawed on the inside of his mouth a little too hard, anything to take his attention away from the needle and thread being stuck into his skin. The painkillers they found only did so much. While looking up at the ceiling, he noticed why everything had a unique glow to it. The tiles illuminated a pale light over them. It was soft, feather-like and warmed his skin slightly. _Oh wait that's..._ Deft hands swiftly ran in a pattern over his cut. For a moment it felt like his skin had been kissed by sunlight. It was transformed on raven wings graced with an ocean filled with sapphires.

"Stop staring at me."

"Wha?" Ichigo blinked, looking down at his sewn wound. "Sorry, I'm just tired." He glanced back up and looked Uryu over quickly. "But not a tired as you look."

"I don't think I can move much anymore." The archer lowered himself onto his side, avoiding his tender shoulder blades. He watched as the Quincy curled slightly into a ball like position.

Ichigo could not help but feel a pang of sorrow in his throat to be unable to take away that pain. "I, um, think I'll go lay-"

"No wait," A hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, as he was halfway pushing himself off the bed. It let go just as quickly as it took hold, retreating back to its original resting place. "I... I don't think I... We're both hurt pretty bad. So we should make sure neither of us don't open up a wound while sleeping." Uryu looked troubled. The Shinigami didn't say anything; he understood the meaning beneath the pride. Ichigo sighed, _Ishida and his damn pride._ So he just slid back up onto the bulk of the mattress. Looking over at the side table, he noticed a tiny half sun symbol embedded into the blue-gray metal. He ran his finger across it curiously and ended up making the light dim. The archer sighed as Ichigo lowered himself onto his back. "Kurosaki?"

"Yeah?" He answered into the faint room; quite sure the other wouldn't want all the light gone either. Turning his head, he could see Uryu looking at him over the small silver frame, hands resting close to his face now.

"Am I being..." The feathery lashes painted the elegant azure thinner with each brushing stroke. Sleep waited patiently on the edge, lingering to hear the answer it so desperately searched for. "It's just..."

"I don't think we should be alone tonight either." Ichigo spoke softly.

"Okay, good." The layer of black whisked to a stop, allowing Ichigo to stop drowning in the glittering and bottomless ocean. The spell broke and he realized Uryu had fallen asleep. Smiling, he reached between them and carefully pushed the still wet hair out of the archer's face. The normally pale skin was pink from a vigorous cleaning. For a moment, the Shinigami rubbed his thumb along the shell of the slightly cool ear before gently pulling off Uryu's glasses and setting them on the bedside table. If he had been in the right frame of mind he would have wondered why he was doing such a thing. _Somehow, it just feels right._ Just as he too slipped away into the folds of slumber a glimmer of pale red flickered before his eyes, maybe. All he could think of was sleep.

* * *

"I'm not wearing those."

Ichigo bit back a chuckle. Even though it was quite amusing. He turned around and pulled on the forest-green shirt he had found. "I dunno, Ishida. They must fit because mine sure do."

"I don't care if they fit, I'm not putting them on."

The Shinigami couldn't help but smile. Rummaging through his torn clothing, he pulled the wooden soul badge out of a pocket. Just like Uryu's Quincy bracelet, it was the only thing he had left, even if they were now mere trinkets. "Maybe whoever put clothes here thought you were going to be a girl." He offered innocently. But the idea was prosperous as the rest of the clothing was obviously for a young man. "Besides you can't go out in sleep pants." Finally Ichigo turned to look at the agitated archer. Arms crossed and a glare that could burn water.

"Fine!" Uryu snapped; snatching up the clothes he stormed into the bathroom. The door slammed behind him and Ichigo shook his head.

The kitchen was not so much of a place that looked to be for cooking. Rather there was a few compliances, coffee machine, toaster, which seemed out of place in such a world. And a tiny fridge that held a few perishable food items and drinks. _It almost looks like we are supposed to be here on vacation._ He found a few pastries in one of the few cupboards under a clear glass container as if waiting to be served.

"Where did you find those?" Uryu looked surprised at the platter of food. He felt his stomach turn in a knot and was sure the other was just as hungry. "Are you sure it's safe to eat?"

Without actually answering, Ichigo plucked one of the donut like items off the plate and stuffed it in his mouth. Uryu jumped, looking slightly afriad. But after a few chews and a swallow, it turned out to taste normal. "Are you're pants tight enough?"

He got a quick glare before the pale hand adjusted the silver frames again. "You're the one who said I had to wear them."

"They don't look that bad." He offered. Pink petals rose over white skin. "We can see if we find any shops today and get you something else."

"With what money, Kurosaki?" Uryu was looking at another wall. He pressed it in to reveal a closet. Two dusty gray coats resided inside. "Even if we had any Yen on us, I double this place takes the same currency. I'm not quite sure how we are even going to afford this place either."

"Hmm," He joined his friend and pulled on the other jacket. It wasn't too heavy but was warm and easy to move in. "Well, we won't know until we look around."

"Agreed."

Uryu reminded him to make sure he had their key and they proceeded down the hall and stairs of the soot colored halls with radiant blue grids. Back in the entryway, the blonde man still stood. "Um hi, do you happen to have a map?"

The man looked surprised at the question. "There are no maps of Midnight."

"Then how do we know where things are or how to get back?" Uryu asked.

Piercing baby blue looked back and fourth between them. "Look, we get it you can't tell us anything. But can you at least point us in the direction to someone who can?" Ichigo offered.

"Go to where two stars meet." The man fell silent and looked back down at his desk as if going back to work.

"Well, he was helpful." Ichigo said as they pushed the panel to open the exit. Outside was still dark. It looked just the same as when they arrived. Moon high and street barely lit. But there were a few people walking about, tightly grouped together. "Okay, what gives? I know we didn't sleep that long."

Uryu shrugged. They stood in place for a moment before deciding to just start walking. Eventually they would run into someone who would talk or they would find the place the man spoke about. They walked about the city that only thing that seemed to have changed was the traffic. "Kurosaki," He hummed an answer without looking at the archer. "Do you notice that no one is here alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone is in groups of at least two. There isn't a single person walking around by themselves." Uryu was right. They looked around to see duets of people together. Where they friends? Family? Lovers? Enemies? There was no way to tell. They stopped for a moment and Ichigo watched two people who looked to be lovers. The man bent his head over and whispered something into his partner's ear. The woman smiled, brushing her long hair out of her face to look up at him. It was odd because if the woman's hair was cut shorter and styled differently, she would have looked like a female version of- "Hey, Kurosaki!" Uryu's voice hissed into his ear. He jumped.

"Huh?!"

The archer rolled his eyes and pointed at the curb. _Binary Boulevard. _He blinked at the words etched into the black material. _Why would he be pointing at that name? _Then it hit him. _'Where two stars meet' must mean a binary system! _ "Oh! Do you think?"

"It's possible." Uryu shrugged. "Should we see what's inside?"

They approached one of the small buildings lining the street. It was odd because each of the miniature towers not only did not touch each other, but the doors seemed to be on the ends instead of the walls facing outward. There was one on each side. They elected to choose the one on the left side of the building. Inside gave life to a pub like place. It certainly was not like any restaurant that either of them had ever been to. Yet it had the same nostalgic feel as their place on Eclipse Lane. The dim lighting felt appropriate, it glowed in shades of gold, brown and green. It seemed to be popular with many couples and groups occupying different tables. People were talking freely and generally seemed happy.

"Should we split up?" Ichigo shrugged. He honestly didn't know. "Well I'm going to look around for a bit."

Uryu turned and started to walk away. He watched the graceful raven glide away. Long lithe limbs that held such powerful strength, pale skin that contrasted elegantly against any color that was held against it. The nimble fingers played with the hem of the sleeve and he saw Uryu tug at the silver metal bracelet. He too couldn't help but feel a strange urge to pull the piece of heavy jewelry off. Then he noticed that he had been standing there staring at the Quincy walking away. _Those pants are really too tight. No guy should ever have an ass like that._ His cheeks burned, he shouldn't be looking at Uryu like that.

Ichigo decided to head for the bar. He hopped onto one of the stools and cupped his hands in front of him. Slowly his gaze wandered back towards the raven beauty. "Hey man, what'll it be?" Ichigo jumped, as he wasn't expecting anyone to talk to him. Standing before him was a tall man in a pin striped pants and vest with a white shirt. He was cleaning a drinking glass and looked down at him with a smile.

"Oh, um... water is fine." He remembered Uryu's comment about not being able to pay for anything. Most establishments didn't charge for water so he hoped this place did as well.

The barkeeper gave him a look but shrugged. While the man fetched his drink, Ichigo pulled on the bracelet. _Uhg, I'm just as bad as Ishida..._ He frowned; the thing really was bothersome. "Ya know, you don't pay for anything while here." The glass of water was placed into his view.

"Excuse me?"

"I can tell you're new." The man pointed at him tugging on the bracelet. Ichigo immediately let go, placing his left hand in his lap and taking the drink in the other. "Most people get used to theirs after a while. But usually that's by their third or fourth Zone. They stop trying to take them off and ignore them for the most part."

"You mean other people have them too?" He lifted his arm slightly and looked at it as he spoke.

"Everyone." The man showed him the thin silver band before going back to cleaning. The only difference was a light green aura floated above the man's bracelet.

"What are they?"

He shrugged. "No one knows. By the way, where's your partner?"

"Partner?" _He must mean Ishida._ Glancing over his shoulder he saw said archer attempting to talk with someone.

The barkeeper chuckled. "I'm a bit surprised you two can be so far apart."

"Why?" He watched Uryu frown slightly at whatever answer he had gotten.

"You can't see it?"

"See what?" Ichigo turned to see a perplexed look on the man's face. "See what exactly?" The gaze went to rest on his bracelet. "Let me guess, you can't tell me."

"Sorry, I'm sure you'll figure it out. But I will tell you that people aren't going to talk to you unless you're together. And try not to get too far apart."

"Okay... why's that?" Now he was curious. What was the problem with not being right next to Uryu all the time? He certainly wasn't worried that Uryu would go and do something and get hurt... well maybe.

"It's different for every couple. But I can tell you that your partner is connected to you through your Coder."

_Coder... that's what they're called? Weird..._ Ichigo looked around. "Where's your partner then?"

The barkeeper pointed over at a young woman. She held a tray of drinks and was serving a table nearby. He could barely see it from the bar but it looked like her bracelet was glowing the same green color. The girl had the same deep auburn hair as the barkeeper but longer and pulled back into a tall ponytail. Her smile didn't look forced as she served the guests. "She's my sister." His voice sounded hollow, as if dragging down an empty well. Looking up, Ichigo saw the sadness clouding the man's visage. A question suddenly occurred to him.

"What _is_ Midnight?"

* * *

Update Note:

12/10/13- I reworded the conversation where they fall asleep. And fixed a couple of spelling and grammar errors I found.


	3. Have We Fallen

A/N: This chapter took me a while for many reasons. I want to thank the lovely Kiiroi Yumetobu for her endless support and critiques on everything I do. (check out her IchiUri fics!) She changed my view on Ichigo's POV. But I still enjoying Uryu's POV more even though he has a very complicated personality.

I don't beta as my schedule is always so busy.

Despite my long time use name, I'm quite female and older. But I'm used to people talking to me like 'one of the guys'. Came with working in a video game store for well over 7 years where even the grown men say 'yes sir' to you out of respect and the teenage boys flirting with you until they realize you're almost 10 years their senior and married. Although if the guys knew some of the stuff I wrote they'd probably freak out on me. :3 Keeps me young.

Please enjoy!

* * *

3-Have We Fallen

_Uhg, why do they actually have to fit?_ Uryu pulled at the silver bracelet on his wrist. It barely distracted him from the fact that he had on clothing he wouldn't normally wear. But he was grateful to have something clean and warm. Midnight had become a bit colder than from when they had arrived. Yet despite the falling temperatures, both buildings they had entered so far were temped and comfortable. It was odd though, the somehow modern looking places that felt so familiar. _Maybe it was just the lighting._ He glanced up and saw the same strange tiles that glowed through panels of earthy stained glass.

The pub on Binary Avenue was cheerful, the groups of people chatted softly while eating and drinking. Uryu slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket and wandered around the restaurant. Just like in their residence, the walls were surprisingly bare. The dark cream color looked like it had been painted recently. He had expected glowing grids and panels, but the doors leading to different places in the establishment had handles.

All the while the archer inspected the place, he felt as if he was being watched. It made his skin prickle slightly and he glanced over his shoulder a few times. Ichigo was now sitting at the bar speaking with the brown haired man behind it. The Shinigami turned and looked in his direction briefly before resuming his conversation._ Of course I'm being watched... I should've expected nothing less from, Kurosaki._ Yet knowing who was keeping an eye on him didn't make him feel any better. It only made his face warm and his throat tightened. _What is wrong with me?!_ He swallowed, trying not to think about the orange hothead on the other side of the room.

Uryu attempted to ask a few people questions. Most of them took one look at him and ignored him. Others asked where his partner was. And when he would jester over towards Ichigo, they would stare at his bracelet for a moment and stop speaking. He wanted to yell at them. How maddening it was, it wasn't even like he was being impolite! Then he started watching them. He noticed that everyone seemed to have the same strange bracelet on. No one pulled on theirs though. And each person had an aura around the silver band. Although the different colors seemed to corresponded between two specific people. A waitress brought him a drink and he sat to observe the people coming, going, and socializing. He sat there for a while, so when a shadow passed over him, he started and looked up to see a very concerned Ichigo.

"Kurosaki, what's-"

Ichigo didn't let him finish. The tan hand grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him up. "We need to leave, Ishida."

"Um, okay?" Instead of walking out of the pub normally, the Shinigami proceeded to take long, deliberate steps out into the streets, dragging him along. The chain for his Quincy cross dug into his skin. "Ouch! Hey, cut it out, Kurosaki! I can walk on my own."

"We need to get out of here."

"You just said that." Uryu had a feeling he wasn't talking about the place they had just left. "I'm sure we'll find a way. Just-"

"No, now."

He finally pulled back, grunting a sound of displeasure and snapped. "Well running around aimlessly isn't going to get us anywhere!" Ichigo stopped and turned to face his piercing glare. Their eyes locked momentarily and Uryu saw the usual spark in the hazel eyes replaced with something. Regret? Fear? "What gives anyways? I can certainly follow you on my own."

"Ishida, I..." The Shinigami looked away.

"You what?"

Ichigo let out a deep breath and turned the frightened gaze back to him. The archer saw that he was pulling on his bracelet as well. "I found out what Midnight is."

"Okay," Uryu prompted.

"Nobody talks about the time and there's no clocks."

"So we've established that no one knows what time it is. What does that have to do with anything?"

"They don't know because it never changes."

"What never changes?"

"Time never changes, it's always the middle of the night here. And... The reason it's always night... they... they bring people... brought us..."

Uryu stomped his foot and squeezed his eyes shut. He had already put these things together; Ichigo was only confirming what he had feared. Yet he was stalling, keeping something from him. "Dammit, Kurosaki! What aren't you telling me? Just spit it out already!" He huffed and opened his eyes to glare down the dull chocolate eyes hidden in the half darkness.

"Ishida..." The grip suddenly returned to his wrist and grew tighter. "Midnight is where people are brought to die."

"What?! That's crazy, Kurosaki."

Ichigo shook his head. "That's why no one cares what time it is or if you pay for anything. It's always midnight because..."

In the pause, the air stood crisp and cold. There was a strain, a choke in Ichigo's voice. It was drowning in ice, gasping for life. Uryu almost stopped thinking, but his mind had already pieced together the puzzle. He understood but couldn't let the reality set in. Just after midnight signified a new day, here it was forever paused just before that break. "Kurosaki... don't." He whispered in that small place where the wilting hazel bent and he wondered how much more strain the branch held before it was snap.

"Ishida,"

Those words, he didn't want to hear those words. "Please don't." His voice was barely above a low mumble.

"I can't let you die." He was not sure who spoke.

* * *

He ran when he never thought he could. The sound of his own name calling out after him wisped passed without so much of a whine. _You can't die here. I won't let you._ That voice, trembling and tight, it was his voice, one that cried out in his dreams. Uryu was afraid of those words more than anything. Hearing them only made it difficult to forget. Those feelings of dire need to escape seeped into his bones. But now he was powerless. He had no way of saving himself, let alone anyone else. Uryu rounded a corner and found that he suddenly couldn't breathe. Everything stopped working all at once. He tried to gasp and everything spun.

"Ishida!" It was hard to hear, but he was quite sure that someone was calling his name. _K-Kurosaki?_ Was he being held? His legs felt cold and all along them something hard and flat impaired his movements. "Breathe, dammit!" He coughed when air suddenly rushed back into his lungs.

Uryu breathed in staggered breaths until his chest stopped burning. He heard Ichigo sigh. "Kurosaki?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Stop holding me."

His own face was flushed already, hiding the realization that they were sitting in the middle of the street clutching each other. "Oh, right." No one seemed to notice them though. _Perhaps this sort of thing happens all the time?_ That didn't seem possible.

Uryu shook his head and the hot arms let go of him, letting the cold reminder rush back over him. Even though he was breathing normally now, Uryu continued to sit. "W-what was that anyways?"

Ichgio's gaze lowered towards his wrist where the thin band rested. "The guy at the bar said we would be connected through these." He couldn't help but pull at it as the Shinigami explained. _Another reason to want the damn thing off, great._ "He said that if we get far enough apart something would happen. I-I wasn't expecting that."

"What were you expecting, Kurosaki? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hey!" Ichigo glared at him. It was actually nice seeing an emotion other than sadness on his face. "I'm not the one who ran off! Hell, I'm surprised I was able to get to you at all. It felt like I was drowning in cold water."

Uryu blinked. "Yeah, me too." The two sat quietly for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we just not talk about... you know..."

"Sure, Ishida." The Shinigami stood, brushing off his clothes as he joined him. "As long as you don't run off like that again."

He frowned. "I doubt I could." The archer mumbled to himself. "What else did you find out?"

"Well, most people go through a few different 'Zones' before finally coming here. They're transported in those weird pillar things, like we were, between places. Each Zone is completely different from the other although he didn't say what they're like though. But Midnight is the only one where it's always dark. People just spend their time casually here doing relaxing things like collecting items and socializing. Eventually they just disappear."

Uryu raised an eyebrow. "Surely there's more to it than people just suddenly disappearing, even in a place like this."

"Hey," Icigo shrugged as they walked. "I'm just tellin' ya what was told to me."

"Hmm." He agreed with a hum. They were stuck in a strange place where they were meant to spend their last days lazy and happy. But they were both neither. Looking over, Uryu realized they had found their way back to Eclipse Lane. The Shinigami proceeded to let them back inside. It was just like they had left it a few hours ago. _Just how long were we gone?_ The blonde man behind the counter had his head down still, working on whatever it was under the counter.

Once in their little set of rooms again, Uryu walked over to look for the food from the morning. Regardless of how long they had been gone, he was hungry. Yet the plate was gone, replaced by a basket of fruit. He frowned, not the he didn't enjoy fruit. "Hoi, Ishida!" Ichigo called for him.

"Yes, Kurosaki?"

He found an equally frowning orange haired Shinigami in the bedroom. "Our old clothes are gone. And someone has cleaned up."

"Yes, I've noticed." He glanced around the spotless room. It looked just like it had when they first arrived. "I think we need to be careful what we leave behind when we go out." His partner nodded, swiftly passing him to return to the living space.

It was strange having an invisible housekeeper. Hopefully who ever it was let them have their privacy while they were occupying the residence. A light heat crept over his face. _Not like we'd be doing anything that will be too private. Except for plotting an escape..._

"You think everyone else is out there? In those so called Zones that is." Ichigo asked as he bit into a piece of red apple.

He watched him chew. "I'm sure, Kurosaki. Hopefully they are far better off then we are."

"Should we find a way to get to them?"

Uryu didn't want to say that if they could survive long enough the others might end up in Midnight along with them. But he wouldn't wish such a fate on any of them. "I'm not sure, Kurosaki."

Watching Ichigo from the doorway, Uryu couldn't help but notice that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was like being nervous and not knowing what to be nervous about. He tugged at the bracelet. Why did it feel like he actually wanted to be able to sense Ichigo's reitsu? It had brought him nothing but trouble. And now, he had nothing to blame those troubles on. _Dammit, Kurosaki. I hate you._ Indeed, Ishida Uryu hated that he couldn't use him as an excuse anymore. Now, he only had himself to blame.

* * *

A week and a half passed. Or so they thought. Uryu counted roughly ten times that they had gone to sleep and woken up. It was the only thing for them to go on. During that time, they explored as much of the city as possible. Possible was the key word. Nothing seemed to be in the same place twice. They could wander around aimlessly for quite a while and end up right back where they were before. And places they intently searched for eluded them while when just walking around or talking about something else they would find a place they had wanted to look for.

They found a street, Rosenberg Circle, that rounded around in an endless display of shops that were bustling with people looking for items to take home. It was sad to say since no place accepted currency and residence calmly took the things they wanted back home that they felt the need to not pick things out. Both of them felt it would signify that they had given up on finding a way out. Even when Uryu found a whole set of craft shops overflowing with a wide variety of fabric and thread, he merely sighed, pushed up his glasses and turned away. He was quite sure he had seen a disappointed look on Ichigo's face. They might not have had the same interest, but it was obvious to anyone that knew the Quincy that he had a thing for creating new and wondrous items out of fabric. It did make his face flush and his chest heavy when he saw that look. Like he had eaten a large bag of chocolate too quickly. It was only mildly intoxicating.

Today, they lay on the rooftop of their residence on Eclipse Lane. There were watching the sky for the pillars, on the off chance that they might notice a pattern or recognize the shadowy figures descending on the platforms. But they never saw them. Something delicately ran along his wrist igniting tiny sparks of trailing heat. "Oh, sorry." Ichigo's voice surprised him. Then he noticed that the gentle warmth had been said Shinigami shifting next to him, accidentally brushing against his exposed skin. He bit the inside of his lip and shivered.

"What?" He asked when the other mumbled something else.

"I asked if you're cold. We can go back inside if you are." Ichigo's burnt orange was dull in the darkness, making it look less like a kid's drawing of a sun and more like a lion's mane. It came into view along with a concerned expression, one that the Shinigami seemed to be wearing more often these days.

"N-no, I'm fine. Let's watch a little longer. Maybe we'll see something tonight." The other sighed and didn't look convinced. Uryu sucked at lying. But at least Ichigo didn't know that he was hiding something other than the chill that started to seep through his clothing.

"Are you sure?" His hand was suddenly lifted and radiant warmth enveloped his cool fingers. "You feel a little chilly." He felt the worn calluses gently graze his knuckles, soft fingertips tickled his tender palm.

For a moment he quivered at the touch. It etched into his bones and begged to be touched with the same heat everywhere else. Sitting up quickly he pulled away from the touch and rubbed his hands together. "It's just my low blood pressure. I'm used to it." Ichigo sighed again. _Okay, that was only a half-truth. _He told himself. "But if you're going to be so instant," Ichigo grinned at his words, he had won the battle; he always did.

One half of him knew that there was no reason to pull harshly away and the other half denied the fact that even though their wounds had healed enough; they still slept in the same bed, only an arms length away from each other. It was all just a big mess. After much though, Uryu concluded that there had always been this tension, taut and continuously expanding, between them. He had always thought it was the pressure from the other's reitsu. But it hadn't just taken the place of the uneasiness that crackled when they were close to each other. It was the cause of his anxiety. Pulling at the silver bracelet, Uryu wished he could feel that overbearing reitsu. Least he would have a good reason to blame why his body continued to ache. Turning away for a moment, he looked back towards the sky to let the air cool his flushed face. His hair creating a raven feathered curtain to hide the blush creeping along his neck. He scratched the bridge of his nose and readjusted his glasses.

"C'mon, Ishida. It's getting late."

He breathed in one last cool breath, letting it numb away the color on his face. That way the peachy cheeks could be put off as a product of the weather. "Its always late here, Kurosaki." He countered. Rolling his eyes, Uryu stood up to follow his partner down the row of stairs. "I've been thinking," The archer spoke as they descended. "There has to be someone who runs this whole place. Maybe we should look for them? It might be easier then trying to find a way to the other Zones." After all, they had no such luck on seeing any new pillars since they had arrived.

"There has to be a way between the Zones, if not that way, somewhere else. Who ever runs this place probably doesn't stay here."

A thought occurred to Uryu. "Say, would that man at the pub know anything?" He didn't really want to go back there because of what happened the first time. But the man had spoken openly enough with Ichigo. Perhaps he knew something else that might be helpful.

The Shinigami shrugged. "Dunno. I'm hungry anyways. At least we can get a good meal." Uryu agreed. He was a bit tired of eating whatever their invisible housekeeper left.

* * *

"There's your problem." The brown haired man leaned backward, resting his palms against the counter. He eyed them, light blue darting back and fourth, watching them with a skeptical glaze. "The only time the pillars drop is when people are asleep."

"That's not possible. An entire population of a city this size can't all be asleep at the same time. Besides, it took quite a while for us to make a complete decent." Uryu spoke over the sound of his partner chewing. _Why did he have to order something so crunchy!_

He didn't have to look over to know that Ichigo had swallowed his food, the silence now next to him did. Uryu almost sighed. _Finally..._ The normal clinks and chatter of a quite restaurant returned. However, the bartender just gawked at him like he suddenly spoke a foreign language. "Ya know Ishida, if time doesn't follow the same rules here then it would make sense. Even if it takes an hour for new couples to arrive and descend, it wouldn't matter when it could really be a small moment in time." The man smiled at Ichigo's words. Uryu just frowned and looked away from the dazzling hazel to look at his half eaten dish. _When did he get so observant?_ But at least there were a few things Ichigo didn't seem to notice... yet. He was starting to dread that moment when the other did piece it all together.

The man cleared his throat. "Say, why are you two so curious about them anyways?"

"Oh," They looked at each other briefly. Ichigo shrugged and returned to devour the god-awful, crispy cuisine. "We were going to try and use one to go to another Zone if possible." There was no use in lying really; it didn't seem like the people here cared.

"Ah, well that'll be difficult. This is the last Zone people are allowed to travel to. And aside from the fact that you'll never catch one, they scan the Coder's once they reach their destination. Not sure what would happen since you're already registered here. More than likely it'll just bring you back."

Uryu's frown deepened. "Then we'd be back at square one."

"Exactly,"

Pushing the noodles around with his chopsticks, he felt sick. The yellow pasta suddenly looked too stringy and the greens too sticky and flat. His appetite gone he couldn't ignore it any longer. "Can you chew any louder, Kurosaki?" He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, counting to five before opening them again. Ichigo was in mid chew and blinked at the sudden outburst. Slowly the Shinigami finished working his jaw and the archer watched the muscles in the tan neck flex as he swallowed. Both reached up, Ichigo to rub the back of his neck and Uryu to push his glasses up as he looked away.

"Look, our friends might be out there and we can't wait around for them to come here." Ichigo took the lead this time, allowing the archer to seclude himself momentarily in his own thoughts. "We can't take the chance that something will happen to them." It wasn't a matter of survival for them. They had all been through so much over the years. But together they had a chance.

After studying them for a couple of minutes, the man finally sighed. "I might know someone who could help you two find a way to another Zone." Uryu felt relieved. At least if they were doing something he could keep his mind off of other things. Ichigo matched his expression and turned to grin at him. "However, that doesn't mean that something hasn't already happened to your friends."

The smile wavered and the sun fell behind the clouds yet again. At least for Uryu he knew one person he cared about was safe enough. And that person was just an arm's length away.

* * *

The dark does strange things to some people. It hides true intentions and shadows play freely with mischief. Yet, here alone with the one person he had once called an enemy, Uryu felt safe. _It's certainly better then being back... there..._ There being filled with bright colors and pulses that fed on hungry tones of sound and light. It was frightening the difference in what some people would consider a comforting pastime. The scene was defiantly not his thing. It made him nervous, very nervous. He was anxious enough to not care about grabbing Ichigo's arm when someone got too close and bumped into them. And the man with long blue hair and golden eyes named Mouse along with the bleach blonde companion who never took his sterling gray eyes off the collar of the purple suit made Uryu as quite as the man's name.

They, meaning Ichigo, spoke their request for help on leaving Midnight in the tiny little alcove just a little off from the erratic groups of people. His fingers itched to latch onto the familiarity of his partner's arm and not let go. But the archer's pride as a Quincy screamed how much he would be relying on someone else for comfort. And he had allowed enough of that for one day already.

Mouse looked them over as the Shinigami asked for their help. The electric blue and gold was calm, half grin disapearing as he cocked his head to the side. Licking his lips, Mouse reached up and scratched at the half covered inked tattoo in the shape of an 'X' along his neck. "Rosu," He spoke after a long while of silence, his deep voice rumbling with control. It made Uryu quiver and he felt Ichigo looked over at him with questioning eyes. Shaking his head in answer, he rubbed the sides of his arms. Rosu proved to be Mouse's partner. The young man gave the bluenette a displeased look at being disturbed from his admiration of the other. "Give them a slate."

Rosu had frowned at having to do something other than sitting halfway in the other man's lap. But he slid away from Mouse and pulled out a 'slate' to give them. A Slate proved to be a flat piece of clear glass that fit inside the palm of his hand. It closely resembled a computer chip with its tiny groves that were cut into it in spidery like vines. "Here," Rosu's tenor voice was barely audible over the noise. "This should have enough to get out anything in the other Zones."

"Thanks," Ichigo pocketed the piece of glass. "What about getting there?"

"That's all up to you."

But Mouse was helpful in another way. It turned out that the food and drink altered their perception, making it easy for their bodies into being tricked to sleep. It was a chemical that only existed in Midnight according to the strange duo. So after escaping, food from Midnight would still be safe to consume. Mouse told them not to eat or dink anything for one full day cycle which meant that once the got up the next day, they would have to forgo anything until leaving Midnight. It would allow them to stay awake during the timeframe the majority of the population slept to make way for new comers. This was also when those who kept watch over Midnight walked between the worlds.

Now they waited, and watched, in the calm night that spread over the city of the dead. The deepest and darkest blue pulled further over the velveteen sky making all the shadows hug together. Nothing could be more perfect then this to cover their movements. Uryu felt the chill more tonight then any other time. Newly sported gloves kept some of the wind from gnawing at his already thin fingers. He gripped the handle of the shoulder bag stuffed with provisions. Letting out a deep sigh, the air clouded before him and he felt a press into the side of his arm. Ichigo swayed next to him as they watched from the darkness between the glass buildings.

Something finally stirred in the streets. Soft clicks of heavy boots echoed in the empty road. The white trench coat stood harsh against the ever night, black hair obscuring much of the man's face but Uryu could make out the thin scar over pursed lips. The strange man in old Quincy garb drew near and they fell further into the alley. His back connected with something soft and Uryu heard a low 'umph' that was quickly silenced. Immediately he stiffened, going ridged along the broad chest. He tightened his grip on the bag strap until his fingers burned. Hands held him by the arms to steady both of them. They looked like statues carved out of amber and coal, frozen in hopes of never being discovered.

Listening carefully, the echoes grew shaper and like a crescendo, it roared in Uryu's ears just like the drum of his own heart beat. At the same time, the Shinigami's grasp flinched, sliding slowly down his arms towards his wrists poised near his waist, one hand on his bag and another in his pocket. He wasn't sure which was more frightening, being caught by one of the men who had kidnapped them and thrown them into this strange world or if the powerful hands tracing over his frame would pull away, bringing a stop to the buzzing feeling in his skin. Finally the trance passed and the white coat slid pass in a quick ray of brightness, leaving the cold skirts of night behind it.

Ichigo sighed, pulling away but not before the breath of warmth brushed the top of his ear. "Ready?" The Shinigami whispered before he could react.

He turned after nibbling at his lower lip to face the hazel covered chocolate. Swallowing the lump caught in his throat, the archer reached up and made sure his glasses where in place. "More than ready." Slowly, they crept along the shadows, careful to stay a good distance from the man they followed him through the city's labyrinth ensnared by the gods of their demise. Today was not their day. _No, not today. You can't die here. I won't let you._ And of all the things Uryu ever wanted, this was his true desire.


	4. More Than the Sun

A/N: Naaahhhh! I know it took me a while to update this, I'm sorry. :( Then I was actually supposed to have this done yesterday. Even more sorry!

Anyways, there is a little switched between Ichigo to Uryu to Ichigo POV. Oh, I've decided to show a little of both the different 'zones' in this universe but keep it more centered on the AU Quincy enemies. So they won't be running into any of their friends. You'll see why in the next chapter.

Ah, so enjoy!

* * *

4-More Than the Sun

_What was wrong with us?_ Even for a normally dim of the obvious Kurosaki Ichigo was starting to notice. Yet he cared about all his friends. _So, why should caring about Ishida be any different?_ Somehow it was. _Maybe it's this place. Everything about it just makes me on edge._ But that did not account for all the times he noticed how Uryu tugged on his bracelet, only to catch him self doing the same thing while watching. And how he was becoming more aware of how many curves and angles there were to the gracefulness that was Ishida Uryu. Perhaps it was the fragility of being and the brink of breaking. No matter what it was; and there were a few things that started to gnaw at him.

Strangely enough, it was the little things. Although in those small fragments of being caught off guard, it was electrifying. A moment of an unregistered flush, a timid touch, a thin smile hiding behind a graceful raven's wing; those things made something inside him jump. It meant to him that there was some sort of light in the dreariness of their situation and Ichigo was in the center of it.

He tried not to sigh as they snuck between the shadows. But his mind kept going back to just minutes before. Sharp shoulder blades pressed against his chest, black-feathered, mesh of a vale swaying from the quick movement, and the thin yet hardened biceps resting in his hands. Granted Uryu was wearing a coat over his arms, but he could feel the muscular lines that were familiar yet so different from his own. Where Ichigo's were bulky and buff, Uryu's were tight and refined like the bow he so proudly used. It hadn't even been until the white figure passed that the Shinigami even realized he was practically feeling up, or literally down, the archer's arms. They had pulled a part, but the tension still remained until he spoke. Then it was gone before he could make anything of it. _Uhg, just like all those other times._

Ichigo glanced out of the corner of his eye to make sure Uryu was still next to him. It was be bad if they got too far apart and triggered their bracelets right now. Aside from it causing them to possibly get caught, he didn't want to feel like he was drowning again. _What a weird reaction. Why can't it just shock us instead?_ He didn't get to ponder long on that thought as the man in white suddenly stopped, causing Ichigo and Uryu to slip quickly into a little alley between buildings.

There the dark haired man stood, looking up at a tall and thin building. It looked like all the other randomly shaped buildings in Midnight except there were no 'lights' in the different window panels. It was quite out of the norm for the strange world. Even some of the windows in other buildings flickered on and off as they pressed against the shadowy wall, watching the white clad captor walk up to the middle of the building's wall.

An outline of a door glowed briefly, but white instead of blue. Ichigo thought he saw the man turning his face and pulled away from the edge, dragging Uryu with him. He blinked as he held onto the arm that went completely ridged at the unexpected touch. Surprised sapphire's widened at him at the sudden closeness. _Oh... shit._ Neither made a sound. But in that silence the Shinigami closed his eyes and fought off his quickening heartbeat. _Oh god..._ He hadn't meant to place his other hand on the slim waist. One, might he add, was very slender and a bit curvy for a male. _Please don't... Oh god, please don't..._ Ichigo waited, hoping that the archer wouldn't slap him, or worse, yell at him.

"Ku-Kurosaki,"

The voice was quite, shaky and a little thick. It shot down his spine and he let out a little breath. "Y-yes?" He cracked open his eyes. Why was he feeling so hopeful? It wasn't like-

"He's inside now." Azure looked away and the pale, free hand ghosted over silver frames, hiding everything from Ichigo's view.

"Oh," He stated rather dumbly. Yet he let go quickly, almost ashamed that he thought something was going to happen. _Wait, what did I want to happen?_

"We going, or you going to just stand there."

Looking up, Ichigo saw that Uryu had stopped roughly five feet away from him and glancing over his shoulder with a perfectly expressionless face. "We're trying to get out of here, not get caught." He stated back. _Uhg, leave it to Ishida to state a question..._ Yet he followed all the same.

Reaching where the man had entered, they both looked at it indentations. It was slightly similar to the other buildings, except instead of a panel there was a thin slot in its place. "Kurosaki, where's the glass 'chip' Mouse gave us?"

Ichigo fished out the 'chip' from his bag resting on his shoulder and handed it to Uryu. Who carefully turned it around before sliding it in and out of the thin slot with a quick motion. They waited and for a moment Ichigo thought nothing was going to happen. Then the outline pulsed a quick white glow and slowly, the door opened.

They both stepped inside. "Well, this is... Interesting." Ichigo nodded. It was similar to the inside of the building on Eclipse Lane. Blue grids glowed everywhere, along the halls, ceiling and floor. But it was white, and very, very bright. It almost hurt Ichigo's eyes to look anywhere, even straight ahead. Everything looked so uniform it could have been cut out with cookie cutters. He felt like a critter in an oversized maze as they wandered down the halls.

"Uh, you lead, Ishida." Last time they were stuck in a maze, Uryu knew exactly what to do. And he trusted his partner's instincts. _It's not like I want to watch him from behind or anything._ He blushed at his own thoughts as he willed himself to look away. _It's just that we're the only things in here that aren't brighter than someone shining a flashlight in your face. _Although, he did think that if it were under different circumstances, Uryu would probably like the white and blue. It was very Quincy like.

They came upon a few doors, but none of them would open. The outline glowed a sickly green and did nothing when they inserted the 'chip'. "Maybe it's good for only one door?" Ichigo suggested.

"Unlikely," Uryu adjusted his glasses. "Mouse did say that we could use it for currency in a few different zones. So if it's a key as well, then it should, in theory, open multiple of them."

"Huh," He pondered out loud without thinking. "I didn't think you were listening."

Uryu stopped suddenly and turned to glare at him. "What does that mean?"

His face felt warm, he knew he had to be blushing. "Well, um... you were... ya know..." He couldn't say _'holding onto me like a frightened rabbit'_. That would _never_ go well with Uryu. The later kept glaring, ignited blue looked like it was daring him to say something and become consumed by the burning hot fire. _And I definitely can't say I... liked... you hanging onto me..._There is a certain amount of wanting to be Uryu's center of attention that grabs at him.

But he didn't have to as creaking sound echoed down the hall setting them both on edge. "What was that?" Uryu whispered, inching closer and hopefully further away from the sound.

"I-I dunno." It echoed again, a long creak, scratching and bending metal creeping along the hard halls. "Let's _not_ find out."

With a nod, they were both in a run. With each door they reached, it glowed an angry green. And as soon as the color appeared, they took off not even waiting for the color to turn back to white. What ever it was behind them began to clank nosily. It felt like the building was rattling but it could be just from them running. But no matter how distance they seemed to be gaining on it, it grew louder and quicker. Ichigo didn't want to find out the apex of its crescendo. So when they finally reached a door that glowed blue he just about lost it. "Yes, c'mon, c'mon!" He hissed impatiently at the door.

"Kurosaki!" A hand grabbed his arm and squeezed. He looked up to see why Uryu sounded so frightened. The hall was growing dark. Whatever was making that sound was creating a dark shadow that enveloped even the blue grids. He couldn't make out what it was in the black.

The door slid opened and Ichigo pulled them both inside. The metal slowly lowered just before the shadows reached them. He heard Uryu sigh with him, the hand loosened slightly as they rested against the door. His breath was staggered and he closed his eyes to regain control.

Then the iron grip as back and he felt something wisp over his ear. The Shinigami shivered at the feeling of breath over soft cartilage. There was only one person who it could come from. "Don't. Move." The words were stern but so quite he wouldn't have heard them if Uryu had not spoken them directly into his ear. Slowly he opened his eyes. He wasn't sure why but he hoped that he'd be greeted with an out of breath Quincy looking at him.

That was nothing of the sort, but he knew why Uryu had told him not to move. If he had stood there for hours without moving, he would not be able to count how many there were. But the strange humanoid animals lay curled up in random places. Many of them looked to be sleeping on each other as well. That is if such creatures slept. Ichigo knew that his partner was more than likely looking at the long claws filled with poison. These were the paw-like hands that had done so much damage to the archer's back not so long ago. "Look," He spoke quietly back.

There beyond the deadly sea of monsters looked to be hundreds of black platforms with ivory doorframes. Just empty frames without the actual doors inside of them in different places and several platforms. Some were high up and reached by other floating tiles and others connected to each other. The two exchanged looks before silently deciding to make their way over towards the platforms. Slowly and carefully they stepped between the creatures, one maneuvering a couple of paces before the other followed. They were quite careful to be within arms length so as not to set off a reaction from their bracelets.

The last portion they moved quickly, Uryu miss judged the space and slipped. Thankfully, Ichigo was just moving next to him and grabbed him before he saw the edge dropped off showing the depth of the room of platforms, endless and different swirling shades of blue, white and gray. _Ishida!_ Grinding his teeth in the silence to not cry out his partner's name and awaken the beasts. They stood in a panicked breath. "You okay?" He gulped for air. _Holy shit! We are so fucked if we fall!_

Uryu nodded. "Y-yeah," This time, he didn't seem to notice, or mind, that Ichigo was holding onto him. "L-let's keep going."

A thin and tiny walkway led them to a group of black tiles, similar to the one that they rode on their way down into Midnight. They picked one randomly, as if it took them to a platform that they found useless they could just come back, and floated over towards a platform filled with the archways. Each looked somewhat similar, ivory-bone and a small slit on the side where a handle would have been a door present. "Should we just pick one?"

A shrug answered him. "I guess. We don't even know which ones will work or what they do."

So Ichigo slid the glass chip into the slot like they had been doing the whole time and waiting. After a moment the frame glowed a light blue and the space inside the frame faltered, it glimmered like a curtain of water. Reaching over, he took hold of the pale hand. The archer jumped and started to pull back. "We don't know what will happen." Ichigo stated. "And we really wouldn't want to get separated if something weird happens."

The pull lessened, but didn't relax. He saw Uryu push his glasses back up his nose. "Kurosaki, weird things always happen around you." The Shinagami rolled his eyes. And before they could have any second thoughts, stepped through the rippling curtain.

Everything spun. At first he thought they were falling down the long, blue and gray room. _It's just the colors._ He told himself. So he held onto the hand that seemed to squeeze back in the same fear he felt. It did make him dizzy even when he closed his eyes. _Fucking hell, how long is this going to last?_ Then soon after, _Oh hell, we are falling!_

A very green ground came into view and they landed with a hard _thump,_ his face digging into the ground and his vision still swirling. "Nnnuuhhgg," He heard Uryu groan. "What the hell was that?"

Sitting up, he looked around. It looked like they had been dropped off into the middle of a jungle of sorts. Everything was overgrown. Trees had moss and vines winding up their trunks. Large rocks were worn and covered with the same treatment. But the air smelt fresh, light, just like it should. Yet hot and sticky, very much unlike Midnight where it seemed to be getting colder the longer they stayed there.

"Hey, we should rest." Ichigo stood up quickly when he realized that his partner had already started to move away from him. He knew Uryu wouldn't try to go far in case the bracelets still worked, which he was fairly sure they did. "That was one crazy ass ride."

Sapphires gave him a serious look. "If someone else comes through that portal, they might end up in this exact spot. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not get caught twice by one of those... things."

Uryu was not one to run away. Nor was he a coward. But there were three things that seemed to be completely missing from Midnight that they could not find anywhere, clocks, mirrors and weapons. This meant that they weren't able to arm themselves with anything useful. Their hopes were to find something in a different zone. And mirrors, neither of them could figure out why there were no mirrors.

So they walked. At least there was sunlight. Although, Ichigo wished he could've stopped to enjoy the basking rays of light. Darkness did some crazy things to a person. He looked over at a very tired looking Quincy. Something lurched inside him when he saw Uryu stagger slightly. "Why don't we stop for a minute?"

Shaking his head, the archer tried to continue on. "My blood pressure's just a little low. Just a little longer. I want to be far enough away-"

Then Uryu fell over. "Ishida!" He caught him just in time. Checking the other carefully as he leaned the unconscious body against him, he sighed. "Stupid, Ishida." He mumbled to himself, lifting the other over his shoulder. "Passed out on me..." Now he would have to find a good place for them to rest.

* * *

The sky is too blue, devoid of black freckles and white streaks. It is a sky he knows so well. Unlike the shaggy hair dripping in ink and chiseled face covered in thin carapace. Uryu frowns. Again, he can't speak. Only look upward, not even his own body comes into view. Just the long black blade that he has wondered for a very long time just how heavy it was. The chain clinks in an invisible wind; he can't feel it, not even the cold metal piercing through his flesh and penetrating deep inside his very soul. It's all wrong, the hand covered in grey strips, gripping the handle the tall blade. His dreams ignore reality, as they always tend to do.

_"Ishida Uryu,"_ That same deep voice calls. He bites his tongue, anything to make him feel something.

_"Ishida Uryu,"_ The color of the man's eyes. What were they? Silver? Brown? His frown deepens. Where was the orange that was supposed to be in place of the black?

_"Tell me,"_ The sky is sliced, a silent echo between a raw cut. It is the only thing he has felt in this dream that defies memory. He gasps, or so he thinks, for the empty air above him. The man kneels, for a moment he hopes to see the chocolate caramel that is always so warm to him.

_"Tell me, Ishida Uryu."_ Something is flowing, rushing out of him. Nothing fills the void of the blade that had impaled him. It hurts, painful beyond reason. Why should it matter? It's not like he asked Ichigo to stab him, regardless of his state of being. Yet the emptiness grows as sad as it is painful.

_"What do you want?"_ He has been asked this before. He aches deep inside where there is a hole inside him. Not so much unlike a hollows hole. Missing a vital piece, a memory, a feeling, a person.

_"Speak it,"_ Uryu wishes, almost wills, the dark figure back to its real form. The one it should never deviate from. But he could never deny its will. He tries to form the words with his sun-chapped lips even if no words come out. _"What you want,"_

The man's clouded eyes dart to his mouth. One word, all he has to say is one word. He knows it so well, but why can't he even say it? It is his answer that means everything. _I want... I want..._ The figure's form wavers as if sighing. _What I want is-_

* * *

There is a click followed by a snap. It pulls him back and he groans, sitting up to rub his head to find a cold towel falling into his hand.

"About time you woke up." Something tan moves in front of his face and he catches a glimmer of glass. Uryu places the frames on his face and finds something else being shoved into his face. "Here, don't need you passing out on me again."

He glares in return, but takes the simple sandwich and canned drink, something he had stashed inside their bags from Midnight. As he eats, he notices three things: the smell of dirt, which is grinding into the back of his pant legs, the general stickiness of the air, and the thick grassy smell accompanied with- "It's raining." -long before the small alcove of rocks that they were positioned under that kept them dry.

Ichigo huffs as he moves their bag around and shoves a ball of tinder under a pile of branches he seemed to have acquired before the rain started. "Yeah, luckily I found this place before it came down like crazy." Midnight might not have had weapons anywhere, but at least they found a box of matches. "You had a slight fever too."

_Oh, well that explains the makeshift compress..._ Scooting into a better sitting position, he turns the can in circles. "I wasn't expecting it to be so hot after being in a place like Midnight." His jacket had been removed to rest under his head.

"Tch!" The Shinigami dropped the first match, obviously frustrated. "If we had stopped like I had suggested then you wouldn't have passed out in the first place! Do you know how hard it was to find all of this shit while making sure I didn't get too far away?"

"I didn't _ask_ you to do anything!" Uryu retorted. "In fact, if you had _ran_ when I _told_ you to the first time, we wouldn't be here!" He stood up quickly.

"Hey, where are you going?" The rain pelted down on him. Dragging everything with its fall. Uryu didn't run. In fact, he took a few brisk and deliberate steps out from their cover and turned away from him, pulling on the silver bracelet as a reminder of their situation. One where he was both trapped and forced to face his true nightmares. Ichigo seemed to have followed him, the splash of footsteps stopping directly behind him. "Ishida," His name sounded almost sad through the drips between them. "I'm sorry I got upset with you. The truth is I couldn't leave you to go to Midnight by yourself. Not after knowing..."

For a while, neither spoke. Only the rain shielded them from everything else. Uryu was drenched; it wasn't cold but the heat made his wet clothes stick to him even more. "Kurosaki..." He whispered almost to himself. Lowering his head he let the water wash over him, caring everything with it. His fears, his hopes, his nightmares...

"Look at me, please?" Came a pleading question. But he refused to turn around. The apprehension in the air was mixing with the already dense, over oxidized air. It made him dizzy and very light. He flushed to think how close Ichigo was probably standing and how the two of them looked if anyone saw them. Standing in a downpour, sad and needy.

"No," No matter how many times he would try to form that one word, he wouldn't say it. He wished it would all go away, like the bad dreams of loosing that feeling of being solid, filled with the desire of passion, one hot and deep, one that would never leave a hole.

"No?" Ichigo repeated. "What is wrong with you, Ishida?" Something gripped his wrist and pulled. "Why won't you tell me-"

Those words, never will he hear them in such succession. For now, it was anger and need. He didn't need to see the speckled chocolate to know how wide they were. Nor the minty green that only accented the taste of those passion filled eyes. A passion that filled his hands with a warm burnt sun, tugging, pulling on those wet strands that stuck between his long, thin fingers.

It didn't matter that they were already soaked when Uryu felt rough hands pull him closer and a strong muscle slip between his parting lips. He couldn't think, only feel his heart beating so fast that it just might take off on raven wings even in the rain. The roar of falling water and his own pulse filled him, downing out any other sound. Even when they began to stumble into each other, over a few pushes and as they kicked off their shoes. The dirt stuck to the bottom of his feet, making it even more difficult to stay upright.

His own panting seemed exaggerated when they parted, only briefly to peal the off each others shirts. Then it was all hands and lips. The calloused, sword wielding hands Uryu avoided so much, trailed along his exposed spine causing reaction he never knew could happen. He felt weak, knees giving away to the desires that ensnared them. His vision focused on the dilating brown that were now above him as he scrambled to rid them both of anything else between them. The air no long felt dense, it crackled as if alive like the same feeling of being touched by Ichigo's reitsu. Something one did not forget quickly. It was overwhelming, generous and full of such strength that he yearned to be filled with such passion he only could dream about having. And the impulsive, free spirit gave it to him full heartedly. Uryu yanked on the wet, droopy sun-rayed locks, arching and making noises that would embarrass even a seasoned woman. It drove him over the edge, creating friction and tasting the slightly salty fingers as their owner shuddered to keep from crushing him.

There was a slight tingle of pain; something Uryu was very good about pushing past from years of being on the sharp end of many different blades. He concentrated on breathing, keeping the discomfort hidden in fear of their sudden position would stop. It didn't take long before he was crying out, _Kuro- Kuro- Ichi-_. A chant, a prayer and as abrupt as it started, it ended. Too quickly the heat of pent up desire erupted, blinding him in a gasp of pleasure. The feeling filled every nerve and tangled its way down through his limbs, tingling the ends of his fingers and toes.

The weight grunted, disappearing from above him to land next to him. His pulse lowered, but continued to thump. And a small warmth just grazed his upturned left palm while he lay there incapable of movement before reality suddenly kicked in. _Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck... I just... Kurosaki just... We just had sex with each other! _Yet what they just did was only the least of his problems. He _wanted_ it to happen. He wanted Kurosaki Ichigo to fill the void that the ever-present rietsu had always been. That was his declaration. _Oh god, what do I do?!_

* * *

There were many things Kurosaki Ichigo could write down that he thought he knew. It could fill a whole library for generations to read. Yet there was one thing he could write a whole book on. _And as long as he doesn't stop kissing me like _that_..._ It was sudden, the kiss in the rain. He was caught completely off guard, unable to respond for a moment. But the archer didn't seem to notice. _Maybe it's all those foreign languages he knows... Moving his tongue like that... Gah!_ When Ichigo had pulled on Uryu's arm to turn him around, he was not expect the other to, quite literally, fall into him mouth first. His surprise only lasted until he found himself pressing back, deepening the action with his own.

It was sensuous, kissing like that in the downpour, wet, needy and passionate. He would've gladly stayed like that, pulling the lithe, hard body against his and tangling his hands in the strands of black so wet it looked like spilled ink. But then they found themselves back under their rock-covered alcove, shirtless, then pantsless, on the ground panting, locked in a lover's embrace of naked limbs and sounds of pleasure. Ichigo was excited, harder then he had ever been in his whole life just seeing the pure, unchecked emotions on Uryu's face covered in raindrops and sweat. Something he knew no one else had ever seen, an honor that made his heart sore into his throat. Raven feathers laying every which way, sticking to the pale forehead above azured-sapphires that he was drowning endlessly in, a deep ocean that turned into night as he fell hopelessly in to.

Then Uryu tried to speak his name, the only thing that had been spoken between them since the kiss not but a few minutes before. Had it been so little time ago? Sex wasn't like how they depicted in movies or books. It was quick, uncertain, and a little awkward despite how good it actually felt. But one thing they did get right, when Ichigo heard his partner stutter over his name before settling on the first two syllables of his _given_ name, he lost it. Watching Uryu climax between them in a strangled cry of passion brought him over an edge that he never knew existed and found ecstasy. An elation built on a personal haven no man, nor beast, nor force of power could take from him.

He was happy, for a moment before he realized that they were very much naked, only jewelry present because it didn't hinder their touches, and that Uryu, being Uryu, was probably freaking out. The archer lay motionless except for the rise and fall of his chest while breathing and the occasional flutter of eyelashes as he blinked. Of course for Ichigo, it was normal for him to rush in, unthinking of the consequences until after the results were in. Not Uryu. Not calm, collected, calculated Uryu. _Shit, say something you idiot!_

"Um, well..." _Oh god, don't say it, he'll find a way to shoot you to death!_ Yet when he looked over at Uryu still sprawled undignified on the ground next to him covered in rain, sweat and a spray of white along his stomach, all he could see was the other arching like a graceful bow waiting for release of its arrow. His mouth went dry at the thought of getting to see that again... hopefully. "... That was..." How was it he could still speak?

"Unexpected." Uryu's voice surprised him. He blinked and stared until the other turned his head away, obviously trying to hide the growing blush on the already flushed face.

"Actually," Ichigo prompted, not really thinking of putting a reign on what he was about to say. "I was gonna say 'good'."

"Oh," The archer sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then- "Wait, what?!"

* * *

A/N: To keep it spoiler free I decided to do another note here. I know my decision to have the lemon now is probably a little surprising instead of continuing to build on their relationship. But realistically, that doesn't happen in real life. Nor is sex. So instead of concentrating on what they are actually doing I wanted to explore their feelings of the rise and fall of first... well... ya know. And let's face it, for those who really know, sex is awkward, messy, and over very quickly. Especially with a new partner or first time. I want this to be realistic, I really hope you guys don't mind.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading, keeping tabs, reviewing, ect. on any and all my fics. Seeing your kind words really makes my day. Isama, My Elegant Disaster, IchiUryLover, Sowrie, and of course my ever dear Kiiroi. I'll try not to take too long on getting together the next chapter. :)


	5. What We'll Find in Time

A/n: whew... That took me longer than expected. I got sick and still had to work and all this other stuff so I kept putting this off. But no longer! Here is the next chapter! Er, so lots of stuff... I hope this one isnt' too overwhelming. I think most of this universe will make sense by next chapter. If not, you can yell at me. lol.

* * *

5-What We'll Find in Time

The number one thing never to do after having sex with stamina filled Shinigami: Move. Or in Uryu's case, sit up so fast that he thought his spine was going to dislocate at every joint. "Wh-what?!" Never mind the fact that they just shared something so intimate, yet embarrassing. _H-he did not just say that!_

"Well... You could say I wasn't expecting it to happen. But it was good... Right?" Ichigo sat up slower then he had, stretching out his legs before bringing one up to rest his arm on.

His azure eyes darted towards the patch of burnt orange that trailed down towards the display of the Shinigami's naked glory before quickly snapping back to meet the calm hazel. Heat swelled over Uryu's face, a blush that no amount of adjusting his glasses could ever hide. He thought he saw a small smile as the warm brown slowly focused down to the sticky mess on his stomach. The gaze left traces of a heat as it went. Uryu flushed even more and pulled both of his legs up to hide his modesty and conviction. Clearing his throat, he looked away, wanting to hide his face in his arms. _Dammit, why does he have to take this so well?! _The space between them empty, only the warm air that felt so electrifying just moments ago. He felt slightly vulnerable, sitting there with nothing on leaving him open for Ichigo to see. Ichigo, the last person he would have ever thought to find himself sleeping with.

Then the golden face fell slightly taking the brilliant rays of light with it. "O-oh, I uh, didn't mean to, I though you-"

"N-n-no," Uryu stuttered out. "It... I..." _Uhg, can my face get any redder! I probably look like a tomato… _"I did..." He replied simply. "Other wise I wouldn't have-" _Gah! I'm going to hate myself for encouraging the damn idiot..._ "You know..."

He looked away, back to the rain. It wasn't coming down as hard as it was a few minutes ago, but still impossible to see more than a few yards away. A mesh of blue, green and brown colored the outside world in little dashing lines like the artist used a brush too large and paint too thick, overwhelming the fragile canvas. It looked sad, a sky crying for no apparent reason. The archer sighed at the surprising silence. He expected more talk from Ichigo. _He can't be any more embarrassed then me though. After all, I just about shoved myself onto him. Then he goes and says that it was enjoyable._ Never mind that Uryu had been the one on the bottom, _uke_, the one receiving the more painful of the pleasure. _Uhg, now I just sound like a damn masochist!_ Then there was something soft, a light dust against his cooling cheeks. It took him a moment to realize that he had been kissed.

"Here," Ichigo held out a piece of cloth. His face was a little red too. "I know it's not a shower, but the rain should do." The Shinigami turned his face away. Uryu knew he probably looked a little shocked. "I promise not to look."

Taking the strip of cloth, he looked outside again. The light was wavering and it would grow dark soon. Under the cover of the growing shadows he could really rub himself clean. But he was sticky and sweaty; his skin itched under foreign fluids. So he slowly stood up and edged out into the rain a few feet from the cavelet. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked to make sure Ichigo was making good on his word before ridding the evidence of their activity from his body. He spent more time wringing out the cloth to get rid of the pink staining the pure white then washing before returning to their cover.

Ichigo had built up a tiny fire and arranged their soaked clothing to dry near by on whatever rocks. He placed the wet cloth on an empty spot then accepted one of the blankets they had brought as a towel. It was strange, standing near Ichigo still naked, even after what they had just done. So slipping into the spare boxers and undershirt was a relief. Too bad there hadn't been room to bring a whole other set of clothing. He sat down next to the Shinigami on the only other blanket they had brought, as there was very little room under the rocky cover. Uryu blushed at thinking of how close they were going to sleep.

"Um, Ishida?" He turned to study the mint chocolate looking into the flames from a resting chin on arms and knees. "I didn't hurt you did I?" Ichigo sighed heavily, avoiding his gaze.

_Holy shit, he's actually worried!_ "Of course not, Kurosaki. It was my... idea... after all. And it's common knowledge that there is always some discomfort the fir-" He stopped himself from the confession to be greeted by a stunned look. The Shinigami blinked, once, then twice at him. Uryu felt his face began to flush again.

"Oh," Ichigo seemed to understand what he was getting at. _Just fucking great, now he knows I was a virgin..._ "Well I've never done something like that before either." _What?!_ "I just couldn't stand it if I had hurt you."

He coughed. "It was... pleasurable." _Okay, so I'll actually admit it you moron. _

"Good." The other cracked a little grin. Slowly, Ichigo slipped a hand out from their folded place and rested gently on top of his to stroke at the strange metal bracelet.

Uryu wasn't sure which made him feel more jumpy, being completely naked next to Ichigo or having said Shinigami caressing any part of his body, hand or otherwise; the 'otherwise' he had definitely fantasized about until a few moments ago and would probably continue to. Both made his chest flutter and he had to swallow the thick, dry pulse in his throat. _Wh-why are we even having this conversation? I-I can't have these kind of feelings for him. We're both... He's... Oh fuck me._ Uryu was never good about being in denial. "Ah, Kurosaki?"

"Hmmm?" The other hummed, taking his half lidded gaze from the silver bracelet to meet his gaze.

_Oh dear god stop looking at me like that!_ He wanted to scream, the drumbeat in his chest thudded into a gentle march. "It's getting dark, we should probably rest until morning so we can leave when the rain stops."

Thankfully, Ichigo nodded in agreement. He sighed, able to take his hand away and lay on his side, back to the Shinigami and facing the downpour that made everything look defeated against the darkened sky. He watched as if being entertained by the sadistic painter falling into a state of madness.

The fanatical feel shattered when a warm weight slipped over his waist, stopping to rest along his side down to his hip. "What are you doing?" The same warmth began to radiate along his spine, tickling the back of his legs and neck where his skin was exposed.

"You'll get cold, Mr. Low Blood Pressure. I won't be able to sleep if all I hear is your teeth chattering until morning."

Uryu couldn't see the Shinigami's expression, but he was sure to be smiling against the nape of his neck. He felt the sharp nose press against his hairline and puffs of air roll over his neck to hit the back of his ears. "You're weird, Kurosaki." After all, it was warm enough to sleep half clothed.

"And you're not moving."

He rolled his eyes. Sighing, he lifted up his hands to rest in front of his face, removing his glasses and setting them just far enough away that he wouldn't hit them in his sleep._ I guess it wouldn't be so bad to wake up like this._

* * *

Being intimate with Uryu was delicate. Like a drying rose that might crumble if you touch it too early before it sets properly. Even then, subject to falling apart at any given moment. _Well, maybe not exactly like a flower, but he's always been damn pretty for a guy._ And also there was the fact that they had only shared one moment together the day before. Yet, Ichigo had heard practically no complaining from the other when he wrapped his arm around the wiry frame to drift off into an embraced filled sleep. Perhaps just dealing with said Quincy in general was delicate. More like an intricate dance one had to learn the right moves correctly where they weren't stepping all over each other's feet. _I wonder what kind of dancing Ishida knows. _Ichigo shook his head. _Oi, dancing with any other guy, even if it was Ishida, would be just... weird._

Regardless, Uryu danced around any sort of conversation that would lead them to discus the pervious actions just hours before. It really didn't bother the Shinigami much. Eventually, he would trap the little archer's bow and learn how to string him, taut and firm... _Gah! Get your mind out of the gutter! _Ichigo shouted inside his own head. It would be embarrassing if his body started reacting to those thoughts at an inappropriate time, ruining any chance of possibly reliving said events.

The morning proved to be hot, humid, and relatively sunny. The rain had stopped sometime in the night. Ichigo wasn't sure when, he slept better than he had since everything had turned upside down. And he was quite sure Uryu found it the same, blinking sleep out of his endless deep oceans for eyes. It was fascinating not seeing him with glasses on. Those brief moments before the glass barrier was placed, Uryu looked innocent, almost charming and soft. Very much unlike the calculated, over-thought-processed and cool Uryu he knew very well.

They spoke very little as they put out the fire, stuck everything they could in their bags and headed out. The strange overgrown forest looked thicker then before the rain started. It was so luscious that the sky even took on a hint of green. Slowly they made their way past a river and followed it until the trees burst into a clearing. A clearing that could have once been a park or pasture. There was a road not too far beyond that, with houses lined all around. It didn't seem to matter where they went, everything was overgrown with nature. Plants grew wildly, trees tall and proud and the grass shaggy and to their knees in some places. The two exchanged confused looks before deciding to on the direction to follow the road.

About an hour of following the different little, over grown streets Ichigo started getting a very strange feeling. It made him nervous. Not like how Midnight made him leery, this was ominous and much deeper. His bones shivered and he felt his throat go numb. "Kurosaki..."

Uryu's voice surprised him, making him jump. "Yeah?!" He squeaked, looking into sapphire's that had lost their shimmer, a glaze that reminisced his own expression.

"I think... I think this is my house."

The declaration was equally shocking. "Eh?" It was all that Ichigo could think to say or do.

Uryu sighed. "I think we are back home."

"Um, it doesn't look like home. Everything looks abandoned and over grown. Like a few hundred years has passed."

"That may be true for the plant life. But the buildings look more like only ten maybe twenty years have gone by. Besides, this is my house." The archer pointed at the tall proud manor behind a rusted metal gate. One that clearly looked like it had been beautiful when being maintained.

Ichigo blinked blandly at him. "Why do you say that?"

He expected a sigh, but instead Uryu walked up to the gate and pulled on the vines that wrapped around the bars of the gate. Yanking them away from the middle where it could swing open, exposing the lacy metal designs that formed a crest. A stunning ornate Quincy like cross embellished the crest. The design was old, nostalgic without being too overly designed. He watched as thin, pale fingers ran over the crest, carefully and deliberately. They traced a tiny portion before Uryu pressed his palm and pushed on the gate. It creaked in a strangled moan. "Push with me, Kurosaki."

Ichigo shrugged. "Well, that's a Quincy cross if I've never seen one." Both leaned against the bars and pushed the heavy metal. It scraped along the concrete, the only sound he had heard except the water and rain since they had arrived. By the time they had moved it to where they could barely squeeze between the gap he was out of breath. As was Uryu, but the other only leaned along the other side just long enough to stop panting.

"Hoi," The Shinigami took long strides to catch up. Glancing around, he voiced the uncomforting feeling that they were literally the only living things there. "Ishida, have you noticed that there isn't even any animals?" Let alone people, but they had both established that quite some time ago.

Uryu nodded. "Last night. Even when it was raining, animals still move around. And there were no morning call birds when we woke." They reached the front door and the archer fiddled with the handle. "Of course it'd be locked."

"Well you do have a very nice heavy gate up front." Uryu turned and gave him a quick glare before stepping away to wonder around the side. There around the corner he watched the other kneel down beside a line of overgrown bushes, tossing old worn leaves and tiny vines before pulling out a worn ladder. "Wait, you're not..."

The ladder clanged loudly as it hit a gutter along the side porch overhang. Positioning it carefully, the archer ascended gracefully up the creaky object. Ichigo continued to watch as partner fiddled with a window before it slid open, looking down at him over his shoulder. "You coming or not?" He called before disappearing into the house.

He chewed on his lower lip, eyeing the ladder as if it would break before he even attempted to climb. _It's only Ishida's house anyways, right?_ For a moment he hoped it was. Then he realized he wasn't sure what that could possibly mean if it was. "Ah hell, might as well."

* * *

There was nothing worse than for one to admit: _I hate being right._ A phrase Uryu never thought he'd think about saying. But there he was, back in Karakura, at the family manor, standing in his room. He might have lost his Quincy and reshi sensing abilities but it was obvious the house had been sealed with preservation protections. Protections that had worn down with time, however it flowed now, allowing him to pry his bed room window open as he would leave it open when he would rush off to hunt hollows. _Ryuken wouldn't have set any protections though. Anything important he would've destroyed or taken with him. _He looked around at his perfectly set room, bookshelf, desk and other items covered in dust. _That means one of the Shinigami used a sealing kido._ Walking up to his desk, he looked down at his schoolbook with yellowed pages sitting under it. It was odd to think that it had been sitting there for long enough to become rotted by the sunlight when it only felt like weeks to him.

An Ichigo shaped shadow blocked out the warm rays of light before it's owner landed in the room with a thump. He didn't bother turning to greet the sun-bleached Shinigami. "Huh," Uryu paid less attention to the curious sounding voice and more on the dusty objects on his desk. A silver frame still shown beneath the layer of fluffy dirt and he ran his thumb over the glass, revealing the hidden photograph. "Well, I guess _this is_ your place."

"Yes it is, Kurosaki." He answered absent mindedly, staring at the faces smiling back at him through the lines where his finger had rubbed clear.

"It's really blue." Of course his room was blue; a deep Quincy blue.

All Uryu could do was 'humph' back a reply. The photo was of all of them, standing near the river. The day after Ichigo received his Shinigami form back from Rukia. Someone had rounded everyone up to take the picture, much to his demise. There he was, at the edge, squished between Orihime and Tatski. But it wasn't what he found most shocking, as he had looked at the photo many times the weeks before being taken to Midnight. Orihime had even purchased the elegant frame, requesting that he please not put it away somewhere even. What caught his attention the expression he saw on his own face. He didn't remember glancing Ichigo's way, but it was quite obvious, the look of annoyance and enchantment etched across his face under his normally glinting glasses. Somehow the person taking the picture managed to catch it in between those rare moments. _Has it always been like this? Have I always been atr-_

"Wow, Ishida. Is this your mother?"

"What?" Uryu snapped out of his thoughts and set down the picture quickly. "What're you- Be careful with that, Kurosaki!" Stepping over to where Ichigo stood, he held out his hand to receive the photo. "It's the only one left." The archer spoke quietly before replacing it in its spot marked by the lack of white dust.

"Do you want to take it with us then?" The speckled brown eyed him up and down carefully.

He shook his head. "No, it's fine here. And we need the room for other things."

A small silence fell between them. It was awkward, as if trying to tell him something. Standing inside his abandoned home, thick with dust and stale air, a sad joy filled that air thick and heavy. It wasn't the same being the only ones there. Their world locked in a strange time where things aged differently. _Maybe I look older? I certainly don't feel like it. It's only been a few weeks right?_ How could he really be sure? Looking at the Shinigami who was studing him carefully he concluded Ichigo didn't look like he had aged. Yet if he looked at himself in the mirror, would he recognize who gazed back at him? "You look just like her." _Just like what Ryuken says._ But it felt different coming from Ichigo. "She's really pretty too."

"Guy's aren't 'pretty', Kurosaki." He crossed his arms, sinking into a hip to give the other a glare and willed himself not to blush as he did so. Quickly he moved a hand to push them up to cover the indiscretion.

Ichigo cleared his throat, obviously nervous about something. The Shinigami always rubbed the back of his neck when he was. Now Uryu was curious. "Well, you're certainly too good looking for a guy."

The world seemed to stop. His arms fell down to his sides; gawking back and not even bothering to push his glasses back up as they slid down his nose. _Did he? _"Wh-what did you say?" His voice shook. Was it fear? Panic? What did Uryu have to be afraid of?

"Well you know, aside from the fact that you sew, you just- you're a bit- I mean-" The archer stood there watching the flustered Shinigami trying to figure out exactly what he was trying to say. "Those pants are really tight ya know?"

Uryu blinked. "Okay… what of them? It's not like I picked them out, remember."

"Yeah, but I still can't figure out how you can get in and out of them." It was now obvious Ichigo was blushing. Bright red, his face was kissed by a rose that's paint hadn't dried yet leaving its mark upon his high cheekbones. "Hell, sometimes you're kinda girly. But you're not, ya know? I mean you're obviously _not_ a girl." Ichigo sighed, closing his erratically darting eyes. It was like he was trying to look everywhere but Uryu. Then he mumbled something Uryu couldn't hear.

"Say what? Speak up, Kurosaki. I can't hear you."

"You just look good with or without them on okay?!" Another silence. If there had been birds outside his window, they would've stopped at the sudden outburst. They stood there, both surprised at Ichigo's words. Uryu wasn't sure who was more embarrassed. This was Ichigo after all, someone he could now call a friend. Or maybe that was it. Maybe there was another word. _I-is he saying he thinks I'm attractive?_

But before either of them could say something to each other, a light crackling sound interrupted the stillness of all things around them. "What was that?" Ishida felt the little hairs on the back of his neck rise.

"I'm not sure. Did you turn on your laptop or something?"

"No, there isn't any power. I don't think there has been for quite some time. Besides, it's closed." They looked around trying to find the source of the noise.

A light cough caught their attention. It was defiantly coming from Uryu's closed laptop. "If you two are done, would you kindly open your screen?"

They exchanged looks and Ichigo reached out and lifted up the screen to reveal someone looking at them. _Um… How is it working? There isn't any power in the house. And I'm sure I disabled my webcam…_ He opened his mouth to demand an answer until the distinct blue hair gave it away. "_Mouse?_"

"Ah, finally caught on have you?" Mouse scratched at the side of his nose before leaning back into a couch. His companion was laid out on the other side looking to be asleep, curled up like a little cat.

"How did you?" Ichigo blurted out the question before Uryu could.

"Simple, I'm, well-we're, hackers form another 'Zone' as they're called. Technology is something we know very well." Mouse glanced around the screen as if the camera was indeed active. He sighed. "I see, I knew it was a possibility."

"What's a possibility?" Uryu snapped, "What do you know? Where is everyone and why's everything aging at differently?"

The man on the other side of the screen looked sad. His eyes too old for the young face they rested upon. There were stories behind those gems that were starting to lose their shine. Ruso stirred and sat up next to his partner to rest his chin on the broad shoulder. In turn Mouse stroked the other man's hair. "Can you see them?"

"See what?" Those dimensional eyes darted to his wrist. Uryu glanced down at it for the first time since yesterday evening after… It had a faint glow to it. Like it was supposed to be a beautiful soul red but soft and a little pink. He was a bit taken back by the sudden change in the strange bracelet that he didn't notice that Ichigo didn't even bother looking at his.

Uryu looked back at the duo on his, not-suppose-to-be-working, computer screen. "Will you help us?"

* * *

_How in the fuck did we get into this god forsaken mess?_ As if things couldn't get any worse. Not only was their home, shattered into some strange rapidly aging process, there was a very good chance that they were the only ones left. Experiments perhaps, who could really tell? _Can we really trust Mouse either? He did help us out of Midnight though. _

The man explained very little, but it was clear enough that the different 'Zones' were actually fragments of time from many different worlds and realms. _"What about the Soul Society, is that gone too?"_ Uryu knew Ichigo was wondering about his Shinigami friends.

Mouse had shrugged. _"Maybe there's a Zone where their realm still exists. But it's a matter of fact that your homes are intact in the small space preserved by the Collectors."_

Turned out those so called Collectors went around looking for those different worlds to capture. Who knew why they chose Uryu and Ichigo's realm, but they were picked out of their friends to go to Midnight for a reason. Mouse wouldn't tell them. He wouldn't say why their bracelets finally decided to glow or the reason behind the color. One thing was for sure though, if they had any chance on getting their friends back and their world in one piece again, they were going to have to help out Mouse. _"Every two sleep cycles, the portals are able to open up for passage. The chip I gave you will point you where an opening is. I reprogramed it to take you to where I'm from."_ They could choose not to and go somewhere else. But he did leave them another warning. _"Places that have 'night' be wary. The hounds randomly patrol, and without their masters, they'll kill anything that moves."_ So that meant staying indoors after nightfall or finding shelter of some sort away from the open areas.

"Kurosaki, do we have time to go into town and make it to your clinic from here?" Ishida asked.

"Hmm, why?"

Town meant different clothes, real supplies even if they might be a little old, places to find things to defend themselves with in case they did run into anything unpleasant.

Turns out they did have time. The shops were just as overrun by the plant life as anywhere else. Some stores the doors were completely covered in growth that it was impossible to get to. But they managed to find suitable replacements for clothing. Uryu even talked Ichigo into stopping at his favorite arts store so he could grab a little needle kit 'just in case'.

Their travel between Uryu's to town to Ichigo's was quite uneventful. And a little uneasy. They didn't speak much even though Uryu's head buzzed busily with thought after thought, rattling around in an endless loop that made his body feel numb from all that thinking. Each thought a little bee scampering around on an overdrive of honey. He wasn't sure how to talk to Ichigo about what was going on. A part of him didn't actually want to, it would make things real. The same must have been true on Ichigo's side as the silence continued, making the double edged sword feel even more dangerous to touch. They made it to the Kurosaki Clinic just as the sun turned a golden red, washing everything in a bath of radiant light just before nightfall dragged its black skirts over the empty world.

Inside was still, just like his own home. The same protections that had been used on Uryu's home must have been used at Ichigo's as the layers of dust were minimal and thin. It was strange as he had only been inside the Shinigami residence a handful of times. But he couldn't even bear the thought of staying in the Ishida manor where it felt more homeless then a box on the street. Ichigo's room was a bit dirty, but the bed was made and books neatly stacked. Other nonessential items were scattered around like any other senior student.

"You have a pallet right?" He asked as they stood in the room that was starting to fade. The curtains were open to let in as much light as possible.

"Um… yeah. But the-"

"It's really stuffy in here." He stated rather obnoxiously. Not even paying attention to see if Ichigo was indeed pulling out a sleeping pallet from his closet. Uryu climbed up onto the bed to pull on the window. It stuck slightly and he yanked on it, frustrated in the need for some fresh air.

"Tch," Those large Shinigami hands gripped the sill with him. Chocolate eyes rolled at him. "My window's always been stubborn." For a moment, it was like Ichigo wasn't talking about his window.

All the sudden the window slid open, his socks slid against the cotton duvet. Ichigo reached out to pull him back but they both ended up tumbling off the bed, tangling themselves in a mess of limbs. Even with his glasses askew in the half darkness, Uryu could see his companion just fine. Breath knocked out of each other, flushed and in a very compromising position. For a moment, Uryu was sure they were just lying there staring at each other. Then Ichigo blushed, hard. And the archer felt it.

"Shit," The Shinigami cursed. Jumping up quickly, acting as if his clothing was all wrinkled. "Ahhh… Sorry, Ishida."

"Don't be." Uryu stood, turned and faced his embarrassed partner. It was in that moment he made a nervous decision. Or was it curiosity?

Slowly, he stepped forward. One hand reaching out carefully and touched the protruding collarbone. It was pronounced, strong, and warm to his touch through the thin cotton fabric. Ichigo stood still, watching him carefully with brilliant eyes that began to dilate as he took another step forward. His other hand rose and ran lightly up the other's ribcage and broad chest that rose and feel deeply. That hand continued on until it found the very bottom of the sun-kissed strands for rays and threaded between their warmth.

Uryu licked his lips, standing so close and so intimately afraid. It hadn't been like the first time, but it still felt wild and furious; drunk on the elixir of need and passion. He was so unsure on what to do. There was a silent want, a desire deep inside him, to claim the slightly parted lips. It cried in his chest and made everything even more frightening. Should he? Did Ichigo even want him to? The other had practically said that he found him attractive. _And the way he looked at me last night… _How could the other reject the gesture?

The archer jumped when he felt the sword worn hands brush against his waist, pulling him closer and destroying what little space that kept them apart. This kiss was nothing like the one in the rain, ravaged and primal. There was still intent, one that told Uryu that those tiny little sparks that flickered inside his chest, fingers and toes were not a fragmentation of his imagination. He was very much kissing the man he once claimed to hate. Now pressed up against that hard-muscular body, weak and helpless. _God… I _am_ just like a girl…_ Then he found himself being pulled down onto the bed into a more comfortable position, wrapped in arms and legs, panting as if they had just fought off a dozen hollows.

_That's what this is like._ Just like every other time he could think of. This feeling, just like fighting. It was exhilarating, maddening, frightening. And he didn't want it to stop. This is what he wanted. _Kurosaki Ichigo… This is it. I've always wanted… you._

* * *

A/N: I want to take this time to say thanks for the reviews so far. I know many of you are reading and not, but I do like responding to my reviewers. If you don't sign in but leave a name other then guest I'll respond here! :)

IchiUryLover: Thanks for the multiple reviews. I'm glad you find this fic interesting. :)

Sowrie: Thanks and I don't plan on abandoning this! Believe me! I'm happy that you kept reading and didn't think it was clique. I'm beginning to think they're one of my OTPs too... I like writing long chapters. This one was a bit longer then the others. lol I've been trying new things with descriptions so I'm glad you like them. I also try to catch my errors, but sometimes it's difficult. And I'll try not to keep you waiting too long between updates. :)

Axya: My one true wish is to write beauty back into our world. Thank you for reviewing.

Also, I hope everyone had a good New Year!


	6. The Raven and the Sun

A/N: Gah... I'm not sure what happened here. I think my teeth hurt a little for how sweet this kinda end up being despite the overall darkness of this fic. *Sigh... Oh well. The first part I had lots of trouble with, but the lovely Kiiroi came to my rescue and gave me some much needed pointers. I still feel like I got a little lost in all the horrible explaining I ended up doing in this chapter. Rest assured though, the chapters after this will be back on track with what I want to accomplish with this fic.

I do still hope it's to you all's liking.

Not sure what happened to all those beautiful metaphors I've been using. Got lost up in all that explaining talk I guess. Mostly this chapter is some general explanation of what's going on-ish and their... well relationship.

Ok, I'll stop talking now. So enjoy!

* * *

6-The Raven and the Sun

Ichigo wished he could say life was perfect. But it wasn't. The empty, overgrown, unmaintained world around them told him that. _Holly shit, me and Ishida! __Why now of all times?! _He wasn't dumb, he knew Orihime fawned over him. But girls were a bit scary and sometimes just a little crazy, maybe borderline obsessive now that he thought about it. At least all the ones that seemed to be part of his life. Then again, Ichigo didn't look at guys either. It was just Uryu. No matter what it was, fighting or sex, things that happened with the Quincy was exhilarating, a little frantic and quite overwhelming. He didn't mind though. Now they were feelings mixed with desires that had become very much alive and touchable and Ichigo wanted to cling to them endlessly.

He glanced over at the graceful, lean archer. Closing his eyes briefly he took a deep breath. _Oh god. _Ichigo was quite sure Uryu didn't know just how much power he held over him. Still like a dream, creamy and pale, arcing in the pool of moonlight. He was a divine raven that wondered into his life and stumbled into bed with him. _Gah! Stop thinking about Ishida being in your bed before he-_

"Kurosaki,"

_Ah hell,_ "Y-yeah?"

"I think we're here." The Quincy lifted up the glass chip that was now glowing a faint blue.

He looked up. "Seriously? The school?" Uryu shrugged and walked past the broken gates.

The plants had not been kind to the brick and concrete. Some places were completely blocked off from the crumbling building. Yet they checked as many places as possible for the passageway. It wasn't in any of their old classrooms, gym or library. Uryu sighed a little at the poor state of fallen books and torn pages that were scattered everywhere. Finally they checked the rooftop. There, the frame glittered. Almost like the shimmer on the one that had taken them back home.

Ichigo reached over and wrapped his fingers around Uryu's thin ones. His heart jumped a few times, remembering how it had felt that night as he laced them together while between the sheets of his bed. The shaky hands flexing back, fighting to hold on while being pushed down in the heat of passion. Swallowing the dry lump in his throat, Ichigo squeezed the hand gently and tried not to turn towards the archer. He feared that the other would see the distracted need on his face and lecture him. "Are you ready?"

The hand clutched back. "As I'll ever be."

Together they stepped through the veil of light, blinding and warm as the sun sung down upon them. He expected the same spiraling effect as before. But this time it was only light. So bright it might as well have been dark. Uryu pulled suddenly as if tripping over something. The tumble was like falling into a hole, roller coasting downward quickly until they landed with a thump. This time, the archer had landed mostly on him, legs sprawled out over him and they both tried to blink away the speckling dots from their vision.

Something clicked and a little buzz followed. "Who are you?" A glow of angry green came into view, accompanying the voice. A flash of red followed. "Answer the question."

Ichigo couldn't see who was speaking only vague colors patched around. He felt Uryu move slightly and groan, pulling his long legs off his torso slowly. "I don't think they can see us yet, Nora." The second voice sounded steadier even if it was a bit suspicious. "They must be mortal."

"Even more reason to ask. Mortal or not, it's difficult to find a way here even with help." The first voice, a deep tenor male, seemed to be the owner of the green glow near his face. It wavered slightly as the man spoke. Slowly the fuzz dissipated and Ichigo saw what was causing the glow. A long half metallic, half glass blade sparkling with green energy down the clear length was pointed directly at his face. "How did you get here?" The silver haired man asked. He looked too young for the color to be natural. But then again Captain Toshiro had a similar bleached color.

Uryu seemed to start to recover and pushed himself into a sitting position next to him. "Through a portal." Light blue eyes narrowed, skeptical of their answer.

"I've never heard of anyone being able to go through the gateways themselves." A woman with dark hair that rivaled the night lowered her short, spiky sword. The electric red glow stopped and the metal and glass retracted, leaving only a grip and guard. She glanced at the man, placing her other hand on a hip and shifted her weight into it. "Reports have said that some people can actually see them, but not actually be able to use them. Only the pillars have been seen going through them." She seemed to be speaking to the man, attempting to convince him of something. "But, look. There has to be a reason they came here."

The sky blue eyes followed to where she was pointing. Ichigo felt like he should blush. He knew what they were looking at. The faint glow seemed to have gotten darker overnight, making it impossible to not notice anymore. "Um, so… where are we?" Ichigo asked once the green turned off and blade no longer inches from his face.

Nora crossed his arms and looked them over as Ichigo helped Uryu stand up. It looked as though the archer might have twisted his ankle slightly, favoring his right leg. He knew he shouldn't fuss, it would only embarrass and anger the Quincy. "First, tell me how you got through the portal."

He shrugged, letting the Quincy lean on him despite the scowl growing on his face. "Not sure."

"We just did what Mouse told us to."

"Mouse is still alive?"

* * *

"I see," Nora sat across from them on the floor of a large empty room. It reminded Uryu of a training room. He looked off to the side even though all there was to look at was solid grey wall. "Do you still have the slate?" The silver haired man asked.

He saw Ichigo fish out the tiny glass piece from his pocket and hand it over. "You said something about hear back reports, how come you didn't know Mouse was alive? We didn't seem to have a problem with talking to him when in a different Zone."

After turning it over a few times he handed it to the woman. "I'll get it analyzed."

"Thanks, Yuki."

She nodded, then glanced at them briefly before leaving. Uryu tried not to fidget, he was getting a little anxious. Nothing was normal anymore. And their vocabulary of the weird was quite vast. Finally Nora sighed, looking them over with a hint of sadness. "Mouse is Yuki's brother. And while we can communicate through the slates to some degree, theirs just stopped sending information after a while. You said he was in a place called Midnight?" They both nodded. "Whatever fields they use to hold that particular Zone together must dampen the slate's ability to communicate. He must have found a way to send it information to speak with you but I doubt he'd be able to do it again. There must be something he found out but since no one has ever heard of Midnight it's safe to assume once you go there, you don't come back. And he had to get the information to us somehow."

Uryu swallowed nervously. He didn't want to say what they found out about Midnight. _'People come here to die.'_ For him, it was even painful to think about. Incapable to do something and help others, Ichigo, being unable to breathe… He didn't want to deal with that loss so why would they? _No, it's better they don't know. Mouse seemed resourceful. Maybe he and Ruso will survive long enough to find a way out._

"What good will it do? Isn't this just another 'Zone'?"

Nora shrugged. "Yes and no. When the Collectors first came out our world, they didn't try and kill us right away. They wanted our technology. Like those." He pointed at the silver, glowing bracelets. "When they saw what ours did, they took it, modified it and used it for their own cruel intentions."

Lifting up his left arm, Uryu studied the glowing band. It was simple but rather pretty if they thought about it. That is, if it wasn't forced onto his wrist with no way of removing it. "What are they exactly?"

"Ours is meant to bond us with our inner soul. It strengthen us, makes it easier to accomplish more with our natural born abilities. It allows us to also speak with our desires and come to terms with our own thoughts." It sounded really nice when Nora explained it like that. Then he frowned. "But they created it to break a part. Two halves to a whole. So instead of bonding with your own soul, it makes the bond between two people inseparable."

He watched Ichigo blink blankly at the man before them. "That's not really bad is it? I mean, two heads are better than one right? And it sounds like your describing soul mates or something."

Uryu sat there blushing furiously as the two talked. _Oh my god, he did _not_ just say that. _He cleared his throat and turned away regardless of the fact that they were in an empty room with nothing to look at. _D-does he think of me like that? It's impossible right? I mean we aren't really… We only just… Well, I do lik-_ He cut off his own thoughts, tensing up on the spot. Did he really have the strength to fully admit that he was indeed attracted to the stupid, unruly, handsome Shinigami?_ Oh fuck me._ Uryu sighed and bowed his head.

"I'm sure the portal took a toll on the both of you. Would you like to rest now?" Nora asked.

"N-no, I'm fine. Please continue." Uryu adjusted his glasses as he brought his head back up.

The silver haired man nodded, straitening his back as he continued. "Bonds can be anything. Friendship, loyalty, family. Rarely do you see lovers because the Collectors normally kill off at least one of the pair for some reason." The sky like eyes darted once again towards the bracelets.

It made everything feel like it was burning. _He can't think-_ Uryu started to open his mouth to say they weren't lovers. "How come?" Ichigo interrupted him. His eye twitched slightly as he glared at the Shinigami.

"Not sure." Nora shook his head. "When they tried to Zone us that was the first thing they started to do. We couldn't stop the Zoning. But we were able to force the fields to where we wanted them to close around and locked the Collectors out."

Uryu was so lost in thought he barely heard the discussion. Every word just made things foggy as he ran the same thing over and over in his head. _What exactly are we?_ He wasn't sure if he really knew that answer. "Your room is ready." The soft female voice surprised him. Yuki had returned while he was distracted. "Come, I'll take you there."

* * *

_How strange._ He still felt as graceful as ever. Turning his head again, he tugged the lengthy bangs. _I really don't feel older…_ Uryu had awed at the large city made of glass and crystal glimmer in the fold of darkness. The entire Zone was carved out of the hollow of the ground. He had sighed at the thought that there would be no morning sky. _'Wait till you see the panels switch to day mode. Some people say it's a diamond in the sun.'_ That was when he asked if time moved normally there. And it lead to the discussion of how they were affected by the ageing of their world. _Ten years can't have already passes!_ That would mean Ichigo and he were well into adulthood now. Those feelings and actions he could no longer think were the result of teenage hormones. _That means I really do feel something for Kurosaki._ He hissed through his teeth and pulled back his ankle.

"Sorry, you should've taken Yuki up on the offer in letting one of their medical staff wrap this." The large hands took hold of him carefully again and finished pulling the strip together.

Uryu pushed his glasses back into place. "Both our parents were doctors. I think we'll be fine." In truth, he just wanted Ichigo to touch him and was quite afraid to say such a thing.

A moment passed and the Shinigami continued to rest his hand on the bottom of his leg just above the wrapping. "Did I say something wrong earlier? You're not talking much. And you were glaring at me too."

He shook his head, but the chocolaty mint stared back unconvinced. Uryu sighed. "They just think we're lovers that's all." He admitted.

"Are we?" Ichigo's voice was so stern and serious. As was the rest of his posture, shifting as if getting ready to enter a stance.

His mouth turned dry and he swallowed the growing lump. "I… I don't know." Was Ichigo asking if he wanted to be in that kind of relationship? Or was he just imagining something that would turn tragic before it even began. Uryu tried to look away, shaken that he might actually want something the other couldn't, didn't, want to give back.

"Ishida," The tone pulled him back, a terrified sea of blue meeting a warm, solid island. "Whatever this is between us, I want it to continue." Was he shaking? No, trembling? He couldn't speak to save his own life right now. All he could do was stare. A soft hand running carefully over his sprained ankle and another moving towards his waist, stopping to hook a callused thumb over his waistband and down in the dip along his hipbone. Ichigo seemed to understand that he wouldn't be able to speak back and leaned closer. "So I'm going to kiss you now, okay?"

_Oh…_ He was given a chance, pull away to stop it all. Ichigo surely wouldn't fault him if he did, but- It was soft, and gentle. A warm fuzzy blanket enveloping him while his body tingled from head to toe. Uryu had never felt like this before. It wasn't exactly like fighting or when they had been together the last two times. He couldn't put a name to it now. Yet the simple dry press of lips together made all the blood in his body rush through his ears at once. _Oh._ Ichigo pulled back to lick his lips and look him up and down before leaning in again. The same press of heat grew slightly stronger, laced with more confidence than the one before. He sighed, closing his eyes and turning his head up a little and to the side to get a better angle, pushing them closer together with each second.

Slowly it deepened until he found himself on his back underneath the powerful Shinigami, chest pounding as he clawed at everything within reach, the bedcovers, Ichigo's shirt and his bright orange hair. Uryu leaned his head back, gazing up at the hovering figure. The other smiled. "Good, I was hoping to not make myself look like an idiot."

"You _are_ an idiot." He stated rather quietly.

"What why?!"

With the help of an arch, he brought them close together. His lips brushing lightly on Ichigo's as he spoke. "Just shut up, Kurosaki. And don't you dare stop."

Ichigo groaned in acknowledgement before scrambling to make them one again. _If only I could say how much I've always wanted to be with him._ Yes, he could no longer hide it, that amazing feeling of being the center of Kurosaki Ichigo's world, to be touched, kissed, and filled with the raw energy that made him alive inside. He should feel wrong, robbing the most desirable man from the rest of the world, but here and now, everything just felt so right.

* * *

Uryu was never really into being nude. Clothing and fashion was a silent addiction that found its way into his life at a very early age. But here he was now, laying in a tangled, sweaty mess of naked limbs. His hair sticking to his face and probably looking quite unruly. Shifting around, the archer laid his head on Ichigo's shoulder to look over the rising and falling of tan, toned skin. _Wow, um… wow._ Along with his mental admission to having feelings for the wild Shinigami, he started realizing just how hard it was for him to try and speak those words aloud. _Who knew Kurosaki could be just as gentle as he is fierce?_ Although he did enjoy the 'fierce' just as much.

He felt himself jump involuntarily as Ichigo traced a particular line. A thin, white scar that ran from the bottom of his ribcage on his side, down over his hip and stopped on the top of his thigh. It was old, so thin and pale that he forgot about it most of the time, something that only someone who got close and intimate enough would see. Uryu squirmed as it was traced slowly again, a light kiss was planted on his crown. Moving closer, he turned his head up to look curiously at a soft expression.

"How old were you?" Obviously Uryu didn't have many scars that Ichigo didn't know about. After all, he was there for the majority of them or soon after. Most had gotten erased when Orihime had used her powers to heal him multiple times throughout the past years.

"Five," He answered, lowering his head back down. "Mother took me to see Grandfather for the first time to see if I had any Quincy abilities. I climbed a tree while they were talking and fell. Mother sewed it up but after Ryuken found out he forbade me to ever see him again."

"But you didn't. He became your sensei."

Uryu sighed thinking back on how everything seemed so distant from all of it. There had been joy and pain both, but now just a memory, lost to the dying world of nostalgia. He felt a soft rumble, a light chuckle, come from Ichigo. "What?" He asked.

"I'm just thinking that this scar brought us together."

"Scars are incapable of accomplishing anything, Kurosaki. They're inanimate markings on the skin." He rolled his eyes.

"If you hadn't gotten it, would you have gone back?"

He shrugged, moving closer despite the fact that he was normally uncomfortable without clothes. Reaching over he pulled one of the sheets over them. "Who knows, maybe, maybe not."

The sigh was laced with a smile. "Even rebellious then." Ichigo stated rather amused. Still, the embrace grew tighter, drawing him in to the point of being squished. "You know, there's no one else I'd want here with me."

Uryu snorted. The words did make him feel lightheaded and happy. _When was the last time I felt happy?_ But also very nervous. "S-stop being so sappy, Kurosaki. It's weird."

"You're right. After all, you're the more girly of the two of us." Ichigo shifted to get a better hold around his waist.

He frowned slightly. "For the last time, I'm not a girl, Kurosaki."

"Hmmm," The Ichigo nuzzled at the side of his face through the dark strands of hair, slowly making his way down. A hand traveled along his thigh to fondle at him. Uryu blushed, even just the mere thought of such a lewd act performed by said Shinigami made him hot all over. "Nope, you're definitely not." Cocking his head to the side, Ichigo nibbled at his jawline, one of the many sensitive spots Uryu seemed to have. "As long as it's you I don't really care."

The archer squirmed, trying to keep himself from losing his train of thought. "You're being a sap again." Ichigo sighed and for a while they laid in a silent embrace.

"Ishida?"

"Yes, Kurosaki?" He replied without opening his eyes.

"Why are you still not calling me Ichigo? You sorta did the first time."

He blushed, _Oh god, I didn't just think it?!_ Swallowing the rising embarrassment he cleared his throat. "Why haven't you called me Uryu?"

"Because you'd find some way to shoot me to death if I called your given name."

"And you want me to call you after some fruit?" The Qunicy opened to gaze seriously at Ichigo, rising an eyebrow as he spoke. "You call me a girl."

The Shinigami frowned deeply. "My name doesn't mean 'strawberry'."

"Sure it doesn't." Uryu smiled, catching them both off guard. A tan hand reached up and touched the ends of his lips as he turned away.

The brilliant sun beamed down at him. "You're smiling."

"I… I think I'm happy. But…" It had been so long to even think such a way. _And now of all times. I shouldn't be. It's wrong. Everyone else-_

The warm touch slid down under his chin and lifted him up into a kiss. "Tonight." Ichigo stated and he blinked at the single word. "Just tonight. Tomorrow we will worry about everything else."

He thought for a moment before nodding. It seemed fair. Tonight he would find happiness in this newly claimed affection. _Tonight, it is only us._

* * *

The sky should be dripping in vanity. Gold, amber, turquoise, the colors so vivid that it should be like stained glass from heaven's temple. But as he gazed up at the perfectly still blue sky, he couldn't help but wonder why it always felt so real.

Then a black moved into his vision in a nonexistent wind. Looking down, Uryu expected to see the cold, dark blade protruding from him. Only to see the lone figure grasping the black steel not too far away. The midnight sun turned briefly to glance at the archer over his shoulder before he started to walk off. Uryu touched the place in his abdomen, it should feel knotted and empty.

Quickly he stood up and followed the figure, his tattered white Quincy clothing fluttering in the same odd breeze. Soon, they came to a stop. Uryu continued to stare at the carapace covered face. "You're not Ichigo." That name, the name he was afraid to speak out loud. Was it fear? If things became real what would happen if it was torn away?

"_You understand, Ishida Uryu."_ The being inside the Shinigami's body spoke in the empty world through the bandages.

He nodded. "Yes."

"_Yet your answer is still the same?"_ The dark sun turned to look down at the crater bellow. A world shattered to pieces, death and sadness crying up in a place that didn't really exist. _"If he were to kill you again?"_

He swallowed the dry lump in his throat and stared at the sunken grey eyes. Maybe he was already dead. Lying on the sand, broken with a hole in his chest back in the filthy desert of Hueco Mundo and everything that had happened to him in the years after were merely hallucinations of his withering mind having one last spark of life, a dream where he could find the most impossible things. Things like friendship, strength and… love.

The grey eyes blinked and the dark rays tilted to the side. _"So that is what you want? To die again?"_

_It's not really dying is it?_ Uryu licked his lips. "I already told you what I want."

The figure sighed, closing the grey off from the world for just a small moment. They were so unlike the warm golden brown. _"Yes, but will it be enough?"_

Then there was a push on the world around him, a pressure that dragged him down to his knees, gasping for air. An empty screech filled the void, striking right at his heart.

"_What you want." _The sun was back, the orange rays burning long streaks across the sky. _"Will it be enough?"_

* * *

"So we can never take these off?" Ichigo stared at the silver band on his wrist. _How can something so small do so much damage?_

"Have you ever been separated from your very soul? I wouldn't say the outcome would be very pretty."

Ichigo looked back at the disconcert expression on Nora's face and let out a long sad sigh. It wasn't so much that he really cared not being connected in some strange way with Uryu. After all, they had agreed to continue their intimate relationship. _If you could call it a relationship. We have sex, but don't talk about it._ The night before, after fulfilling a purely desire filled sexual exchange, had been the most normal interaction he had ever had with the Quincy. And even then, what exactly was normal? So truthfully, he was more worried about what Uryu thought about not ever being apart from him.

"Tell him, Kurosaki." The archer's voice made him jump.

"Tell him what exactly?" He asked.

Uryu crossed his arms and huffed. "About… you know." He paused as if trying to best way to say something a bit personal. For the first time ever Ichigo watched Uryu fiddle with the ends of his shirt. Pulling on the sleeves and collar. "Your, um, other self."

"Oh!" He had noticed it, the lack of snide comments. The Hollow would probably have a field day with explicit thoughts about Uryu. And sex. And the fact the two went together. _But how do you explain something like that to someone who doesn't know what a Hollow is?_

"Your world," Yuki cut into the conversation from across the room next to a large window that overlooked the sparkling city. "It might be different than others. So is ours. We have things like telepathy and abilities in which we use our minds instead of bodies. But the soul is similar. Every world has them. Only the way they are used is different." She moved away to come stand in front of him where they sat on long couches while they spoke. Rising a hand she pointed at his chest. "Your power comes from the soul. That's why you haven't been able to use any of your gifts. Originally our 'Coders' were meant to deepen our bond with our soul to add strength to our abilities. But those connect you to another person instead and continue to dampen the powers that you would normally have elsewhere instead of just where they had set up dampeners in your world."

Ichigo scratched his head. He was never good at getting everything at once. "But if we remove these things wouldn't our powers return? I don't get it. Why would it be a bad thing to take them off?"

"Because," Nora sighed. "It doesn't just temporarily link you with your partner. It _replaces_ that bond. If you were to remove them it would be like tearing out something that is meant to be a part of you."

He sat there thinking. It sort of made sense. But Hichigo wasn't really his soul. Just an infected parasite that just so happened to remain after rereceiving is Shinigami powers. Was it?

Uryu cleared his throat. "What about the fact that we can't be far apart? Until the time we got separated, we could be move around without each other. Now we can't even get completely across the room without having difficulty breathing."

Yuki and Nora exchanged looks. "What did you do to trigger it?"

Ichigo saw the archer blush a dusty pink. "I ran off." He knew it was difficult for the other to admit.

"To be fair, I did sorta say something I shouldn't have at that exact moment." He shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was entirely his fault and not Uryu's.

"Regardless, you two might be able to use it to your advantage."

"How so?" The Shinigami tried not to cringe at the slight hopefulness in Uryu's voice.

Yuki stepped over and sat next to Nora on the opposite couch. "Long ago, our ancestors could separate their souls from their bodies into avatar forms. They couldn't get very far away from each other. With the exception of a few that were very powerful. It was said they could exists thousands of miles apart for long periods of time." She looked them over, olive colored eyes resting on their bracelets for a moment. "We might not be able to remove the bracelets, but if your bond is strong enough we won't have to. If you're both interested, we can help you do just that."

He looked over at the archer. Uryu did not even look at him before answering. The Quincy's expression going very serious. "Yes."

Nora smiled and started to say something. "Wait a minute." Ichigo stood up sharply. "Can we talk alone?"

The silver haired man shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not." The two got up and left them alone in the long room that over looked the strange city.

"Ishida-"

"What was that about?" Uryu cut him off. "We need to learn some way of defending ourselves. This might be the best way."

He glared at the angry raven just as hard. "Best way?!" Ichigo was growling. "Do you really want to be away from me that badly? I thought we agreed last night th-"

"That's not it, Kurosaki!"

"Then tell me what." Why were they arguing now of all times? And about what exactly? Being able to be more than a few feet away from each other?

"What if something were to happen to one of us? Like when we first went back home. Or we accidently get separated? We've been lucky up to now. But either way, if we get too far apart and can't get back to each other, we'll end up choking to death without even a real fight." Uryu turned his face away, sapphire's hiding behind glinting frames and a lone spray of black feathers. "I don't know about you, but I want to be able to fight back. I want to go home, Kurosaki. I miss our friends. Things aren't the same without them. Isn't that what we have been trying to do all along?"

Ichigo felt down right dumb. "Oh," He answered foolishly. "I thought you didn't want to, you know, be together anymore." _Especially after they just told us we might be able to not be next to each other all the time._ He thought to himself.

"I, um," Uryu licked his chapped lips and adjusted his glasses to cover up the growing tint. "Well… You've seen me naked one too many times to say it was a fluke."

Sighing, he stepped forward, closing the gap between them. "I'd say." He said rather obviously, ignoring the strange way Uryu always seemed to answer him. Saying things without really coming out and saying them. Setting a finger under the sharp chin he brought their lips level and pecked the soft skin quickly. They pulled away from the gentle exchange and Uryu sighed.

"There's just no putting up with you is there?" The archer asked.

With a mischievous grin that hinted at promises of something else later. Taking his partner's hand he kissed it. "Nope."

The ocean rolled in a gentle wave. "I should really know by now…"

"Yup."


	7. Finding Enough

A/N: Err... yet again, I'm not sure what went on with this chapter. O.o Um, but anyways. There's a lot now that I'm going to have to decide on where this is going. Hopefully this headache I've somehow gotten will go away and I can plan out the rest of the story plot. In essence, this is the calm before the storm. *evil bunny grin*

Ah, and thanks for all the views and reviews! :)

It's also can be difficult to keep Ichigo and Uryu in character when it comes down to their actual relationship. Hopefully I'm doing a good job.

Enjoy!

* * *

7-Finding Enough

Ichigo glared at the metal and glass blade in his hand. _Dammit. Why is it that I'm always stuck trying to 'focus'?_ It didn't seem to matter what either. Learning to control spirit pressure, sensing another person's reitsu, suppressing his Hollow, those were only the tip of the iceberg. The blade sparked with black and red energy for half a second before dying out. He sighed. "I thought we were going to learn how to strengthen our bond so we can move around freely. How is this supposed to help?" Waving the sword in the air at Nora, he frowned. _It's difficult enough trying to _not_ think about Ishida. How am I going to be able to do… well, whatever the hell they're trying to teach me now._

"You're distracted. Only think about making the energy you feel physical, envelope the glass with it, see it between the metal." Nora sounded like a regular old sensei.

Staring blankly at the blade for a long moment, he tried to focus. Finally he let out an angry huff. "Shouldn't we be, I dunno, spending time together or something? That's what couples do right?" He blurted out. _I mean it wouldn't be all bad if we got to know each other more would it? Be normal for a while. _Nora exchanged looks with Yuki who shook her head. _Tch, what am I thinking?! A relationship with Ishida isn't going to be normal to begin with! And the situation doesn't help either…_ Uryu only left small bread crumbs of details about himself, let alone did he talk about the few intimate times they shared. So how was he going to even have a 'relationship' with said pride filled, Quincy-archer?

He heard Uryu sigh and turned to see the thin pale hand push up the silver frames. Ichigo looked him over. The archer fit well into the style of clothing given to them. Granted the pants weren't as tight as Ichigo secretly wished, but it was complete with zippers and brilliant blue fabric. Uryu always complained about buttons, and the colors seemed to make the sapphire eyes really pop behind the layer of glass somehow. Or maybe Ichigo was paying more attention to the vivid gems than he had before? _It's not just his eyes. Perfectly sculpted chest, thin hands… those long lithe legs-_

"Can't you even think about anything other than- than-" Soft pink blush dusted the high cheekbones, giving the pale skin more life. "For just even one second!" Skipping over the word as he stuttered slightly, Uryu crossed his arms and looked away. The Shinigami bit down the rising smirk. He badly wanted to chuckle back. _Well, if they didn't think we were lovers before, they sure do now._ "What're smirking about now, Kurosaki?" There was a hint of danger behind the low growl and narrowing eyes.

Ichigo cleared his throat with a slow cough. "Well, you're not doing much better."

The thin hand gripped harder over the long metal rod. "Shooting is different from just using a blade."

"You had to pick a bow." He rolled his eyes.

"What else would I fight with?"

"I dunno, something easier?"

Uryu growled again. He'd hate to admit that the husky sound rumbled deep inside, making his core quiver at the plucked string. But this was something they both knew very well. It was their opera, loud and clear. Fighting just eased the tension. Well, having sex eased it even more, but that wasn't something they could do right now in front of others they barely knew. Although the thought of such a lewd act made Ichigo a little warm and bothered. There was no question in his desire to be with the over reactive Quincy. "Just because you deem something as difficult doesn't mean someone else can't do it."

"Well then," Ichigo waved at his partner. "Prove me wrong."

The archer huffed. Slowly the other gathered himself together, closing his eyes and taking a calm stance. Determined sapphires lifted with the long metal rod. The glass ends were translucent but strategically placed that it made the limb look graceful, fit for a Quincy. Soon the ends began to sparkle with energy. Pale blue lightning raced together and snapped to form the almost reishi looking like bowstring. Carefully, the nimble fingers touched the vibrating light and pulled gently backwards. For a moment Ichigo thought it would form the perfectly sleek arrow when everything suddenly stopped, the air zapped with energy and dissipated.

"Fuck!"

Ichigo blinked. "Did you-"

"Do you know how hard it is to concentrate when you're being stared at?" Uryu was just as frazzled as the electrifying shock the air just took.

"You just," He couldn't believe it. _No fucking way._

The archer squeezed his eyes shut for a second and stomped at him. "What, Kurosaki?"

"You just cussed." Ichigo stated still shocked by the initial outburst.

"So," The raven adjusted his glasses, the frames reflecting the light from above. "They might be crude but I do have a vast knowledge of language. Would you like to hear how it sounds in a German?"

"N-no… that's ok, Ishida." Ichigo swallowed. The one language where everything sounded much more terrifying then what it really was. _Besides, way to go and kill the mood. Uh- I just did _not_ think that!_ It was a good think Uryu couldn't read his thoughts.

"Then what's the problem?"

"N-nothing. It's just." Uryu stared at him waiting for Ichigo to finish. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, vaguely recalling that they were not alone. "You being so rough is…" Leaning closer and tried to whisper. "Kinda hot."

"KUROSAKI!"

"What? It's true!" Ichigo watched as red inched upward from bellow the collar and turned the pale skin peachy. He could even see the embarrassment floating in behind the one ear that was no longer hidden behind a long raven wing. Things seemed so livid, tension on the point of breaking. An ocean tide pulling back, unsure if the pull of the moon was going to push it forward in a rushing sweep or hold it, caressing it, calming it into a stead, blue-glittering, rest. Yet, Ichigo couldn't help but notice the worried look in the vibrant sapphires as they looked away. He wanted to reach out, touch the cool blue and heat it with his brilliant golden warmth. "Ishida, I…" What exactly was he supposed to say? And under the gaze of others. Uryu was a very private person. _And I might've crossed that line. Shit._

Someone cleared their throat. "I think that's enough for today." He turned to see Nora walking towards the exit.

"Wait!" Uryu started after them. "What about-"

Yuki shook her head at the frazzled raven. "Everything will still be here tomorrow. And the next. It'll take time to learn these things. And you have plenty of time here for that."

"What about our world? The longer we stay here, the more time might pass. How can we help everyone then?" Uryu sounded frantic. Almost frightened to think that they would grow older without everyone else. No one to protect, no friends to have fun and grow up with. Time was their thief, taking the most precious things away from them.

The young woman sighed. "You're no help to your world until you can fight. Without your original powers, you have to learn new ways to fight back. We'll start again in the morning." With that, Yuki spun around and swiftly pushed the door open from the strange, empty practice room. Leaving them alone.

The ocean raced back, eating away at the shore. The glare did no less damage. And Uryu huffed before heading towards the exit and yanking the door open. "Ishida! Wait!" Of course he had to follow.

Soon they found themselves back in the clear halls at the edge of the building, looking out over the massive, underground city. They walked, in silence, without and real destination except for back the way they came. After all, there was no place they knew about so they couldn't go looking around and expect not to get lost. So Uryu led them back to their room and onto the small balcony they seemed to have. It was like standing in a little dome. Except between the overhang and railing, there wasn't any glass. There was a slight breeze, but they couldn't hear the rush of wind from the sky cars that traveled on winding clear tracks around the buildings.

He didn't expect to see green in an underground city, but some rooftops and long sections under glass roofs were emerald and alive with color. Tiny dots moved and Ichigo felt like he was watching an aunt farm from so far away. This place was infinitely magnificent, filled with wonders he only thought possible in movies and books. But aside from all the unique spectacle laid out to be seen, there was only one thing the Shinigami wanted to look at. And said desire was leaning on the rail on his elbow and chin in hand.

"I'm sorry," He started as he rested along the metal rail next to the pale raven. Uryu seemed to blend in with the bright colors of the 'day cycle' of the city.

The other sighed before replying. "For what?" He didn't even move, just stared out at the site beyond.

"It's my fault for getting you all agitated. If I hadn't we'd still be training."

Finally Uryu moved; shrugged and stretched his head back, leaving the pale skin exposed. Something hit Ichigo right in the gut. "Maybe, maybe not." The ocean seemed to have calmed some as the archer looked at him again. "I don't get it. It's like using reitsu. But since we don't have the ability to sense or use it anymore, it makes it hard to understand what they're talking about. I mean, everyone has their own energy even if it isn't spiritual. So that can't be affected. Even so, it's not like we can-" He cut himself off and looked away.

Curious, Ichigo moved closer, craning his neck around to get a look at the flushed face. "What is it, Ishida? Did you figure something out?"

"N-no, it's nothing." Uryu shook his head, swallowing hard and licking his lips. "Don't worry about it, Kurosaki."

"Eh, c'mon. If it's going to help us with this whole new fighting thing, then say it." Leaning in even closer, he gave the raven a half grin. And he probably looked like an idiot doing so. But it threw the Quincy off just enough to spark a small interest. Even if it was an obviously nervous interest.

Uryu pulled at the hem of his sleeves, working the tiny chain out to finger the tiny pentacle. He noticed that the other silver bracelet went mostly unnoticed. But the archer had always fiddled with his Quincy pendent when something caught his attention and made him anxious. "Uh well, they might be talking about what's between us."

"What do you mean exactly?" Ichigo wasn't dumb, but he certainly took a while to get things. "Huh?" He asked when the other barely spoke.

"Like my feelings for you, dumbass." The pale skin turned a unique shade of pink.

_Feelings… for me?_ It struck at him like a brick wall. Of course Uryu had to have some sort of feelings for him to have such intimate encounters with him, multiple times. _Hell, just even once! Why is he all- Oh, I get it._ He moved in until their arms almost touched and reached over to stop the fidgeting hands. "Ishida," Ichigo smiled slightly and allowed his partner to pull his hands away to hug himself with one arm and look away.

He sighed, wanting to chuckle at the anxious Qunicy. Uryu let out a shaky breath, not unlike the ones he heard in anticipation of being intimate. But this one held a slight note of fear, the hand tightening and shoulders tensing. _Dammit you, Ishida just confessed to liking you! Do something you idiot!_ He told himself in his own snappy voice. Again he reached out and hooked his fingers under the soft chin to move it to see the brilliant, terrifying sea of blue again.

"Ishida," Ichigo speaks the name quietly like it's a secret. "I want you." Eyes widened, darting to look directly at him. He moved his hand to cup the sharp jaw, rubbing his thumb along the end of the bottom bone. "Don't ever forget that." Then he kissed the trembling man before him. Uryu has never been a fragile person to Ichigo, yet here was this beautifully, frightened raven crumbling into his arms with tired, worn out wings unable to fly. He doesn't ever think anyone has ever wanted him before, at least enough to tell him. And as he moves one hand to play with the elegant black feathers and the other to wrap around the thin, bony waist, he knows that no one will ever want Uryu like he does. _Ishida… I think I'm falling for you._

* * *

Of course Uryu already knows Ichigo wants to be with him. How could he not? But to hear it, to actually be wanted was something he has always felt like he could never achieve. He was supposed to admire everyone from afar, never being touched, and standing in awe of those around him. Now those thoughts are dim as he's lip locked in an agonizing passion, clinging to the shirt of the one before him. They paused and pull apart, but his fingers clenched harder to the fabric as if it was his lifeline. Every nerve inside him is filled with a static overload and foggy with too much oxygen at once as he panted heavily.

"Kurosaki…" He whispered and lowered his head to press it into the broad shoulder, being careful not to squish his glasses into his face. Sometimes he hated the silver frames. But they were fashionable, and he had them for so long he wasn't sure if he'd look okay without them. Still, he nuzzled into the warm body and let out a trembling sigh. Why couldn't he stop shaking?

Something ran through his hair. And a gentle breath over his ear. "W-we don't have to do anything tonight, Ishida." The husky voice sounded as scared as he felt.

Uryu blinked at the realization that they were on the bed, wrapped up in each other's arms, legs tangled together in a lanky mess, yet fully clothed despite the compromising position. _Wait, when did we? Did he pick me up and carry me here?! _"Oh, okay." He said back instead of asking those questions.

"Ah, not that I don't like to." Ichigo was babbling now. "It's just nice, ya know, like this too."

Turning his head back up Uryu drowned in a pool of melting chocolate covered mints. He swallowed at the slightly smiling sun shining next to him before smiling back. Letting his hands travel over the soft cotton, he felt the hardened muscles like they were naked, each line on the wide chest etching into his mind. It was Ichigo's turn to let out a shaky sigh. Everything was so soft and peaceful. For the first time in a very long time, Uryu felt safe. And in the small embrace of comfort, they drifted off into a long needed slumber.

* * *

_Who knew there was more than one way to use personal feelings?_ Granted, whenever Ichigo had been frightened or afraid for a friend's life, power seemed to flow massively through him. It was rarely that the calm brought him extra strength. But it had never occurred to him to use that pent emotion of feeling something strong as energy. And let alone someone else's. Uryu had been insistent with Ichigo though. Proving his point that it would work when he finally materialized enough energy for an arrow like projectile. Nora had been pleased asking Uryu what he had done to focus his concentration. The archer blushed a generous shade of pink and refused to answer. But Ichigo knew. It made him swell with pride that he was the reason for Uryu's strength.

Of course that meant he had to try the same thing. Wrapping himself in the warm tingle of his feelings and making them physical. And like every kind of power Ichigo had ever possessed, it was wild and fierce, igniting the blade with raw crackling energy all down the metal and glass. As he grinned sheepishly, Uryu had merely pushed up his glasses, speaking one word that said a million _"Typical."_ He snorted to himself. _Typical of Ishida to point that out too._ But that was what he liked about the Qunicy.

There was something that bothered him though. They still didn't talk about things. _Tch, we haven't had sex since the second night here even!_ Now he felt slightly embarrassed to think like that. _N-not that having sex is everything…_ But it had gone from being intimate and not talking about it to curling up half clothed in each other's arms to fall asleep and still not talking about it. Ichigo sighed, resting his chin in his hand. _He did confess that he has feelings for me though. _And he couldn't say much as using their energy that way for long periods of time was draining. Looking up he watched his partner training with Yuki. Even from a good ten feet away, he could see the archer's muscles flex. The Shinigami sighed again. He was really becoming melodramatic these days.

"You're both improving."

Nora's voice made him jump slightly. He had forgotten the silver haired man was watching as well. "But we could be better, right?" Ichigo didn't have to ask, he knew.

Sitting down next to him, Nora eyed the two practicing. There was a slight subtlety to it, the way he looked at Yuki. Then he looked back at Ichigo and smiled. "Sometimes you have to make the first move."

* * *

Fear is now as different as it is similar. It still grips him, terrifying and old. Yet, the reason completely opposite from before. The sky still blue as ever, cloudless and still, clashes with the broken white and tan stone. Uryu hears the chain from Zangetsu and looks up to see if the black blade rests inside him. But like the last time, he only see the sky. He sits up to stand. The world never changes.

_Where's the sun?_ The blue is void of many things. Both suns. His and the one slaved to the heavens. There is only the sky and ground. _"Ichigo,"_ He tests his voice. It echoes inside his thoughts but unsure if he actually has spoken.

Stepping away, he follows the path Tensua had taken him last time. It is quite, the wind and crumbling stone is soundless, empty like the world around him. Except, a distant laugh. It is almost inaudible.

"_Ishida Uryu,"_ That one voice he has heard many times speaks to him.

Followed by one a bit higher pitched. _"Iiisshiida," _The second almost like it was smiling as it said his name.

Uryu looks around for the source. Was it one in the same? Ichigo had told him once that Zangetsu and his Hollow were separate voices. _"Where's Ichigo?"_ He decides to ask.

"_Ishida Uryu,"_ The first voice is alone this time. Something rustles, the chain clinks again. _"Have you decided?"_ It is close now, he turns.

Pure sick, yellow stares back. A white grin, mad and wild is followed by long horns and burnt orange. The mouth opens in the high pitched cackling-scream. _"Is it enough?"_

* * *

This time, Uryu is thankful he doesn't wake up drenched in sweat, crying out. Instead, he jerks open his eyes. The image of the half-mutated, Hollowed face of Ichigo, body covered in carapace, lunging at him burned past his eyelids and into reality before fading like a ghostly presence.

Uryu stays frozen in place, terrified that his partner would notice something was wrong. Still, he turns over to curl closer to the warmth that Ichigo always seemed to radiate and finds the other half of the bed chilled. _Wait… I'm alone?_ He reminded himself not to panic. _He can't be far._ Sitting up in the half-darkness he looks about. The moony evening glow from the city's panels flowed in from the balcony, illuminating part of the room. "Kurosaki?" He's blind without his glasses, but the shadowy figure that looked to have faded orange on top is standing in the light. Blinking a few times, he turns to get his glasses from the side table.

"I'm sorry, Ishida." Ichigo was moving back to his side as the room came into focus. Shadows played on the worried features that he was beginning to know so well. The Shinigami reached out to move the raven feathers out of his face. "I didn't wake you did I?"

"No." He answers truthfully. The skin underneath Ichigo's touch begins to tingle. His face feels warmer than any other part of his body. Sighing, Uryu closed his eyes briefly. Physical touching still made him feel nervous. His body felt alive with a wild fire that made him weak and unsure. Regardless, he still leaned into the touch. "What were you doing on the balcony?"

"Testing something."

"And?"

Ichigo paused, looking at him with a somber expression. The normally caramel colored chocolate and golden lion's mane muted by the lack of light. "I don't like being away from you." The slender raven bows enough to cover most of the tint rushing over his cheekbones._ Why does he have to say things like that so seriously?_ It makes his spine quiver. And even though there was still a little tensions, some things had got better.

Like after his confession, it got easier to work with Nora and Yuki. It was like the more they used the built up energy between them in focusing on using the strange metal and glass energy weapons, the more the tension seemed to dissipate. Leaving only the awkward feelings that neither seemed to be able to express fully. The lack of stiffness between them also came the loss of panic when they were only a few feet apart. Uryu was slightly glad for this. It meant he could make proper use of the restroom they were provided with by himself for more than a few minutes. And it made it easier to train without Ichigo practically breathing down his neck.

He felt Ichigo crawling back into the cold spot. The Shinigami lowered them into the mattress and wrapped the warm limbs over his slightly chilled ones. Warm fingertips left a sun kissed heat as they traveled over his cool skin. Uryu sighed, curled closer into the warmth and let the Shinigami push up the hem of his shirt to rub tiny little circles in the small of his back. It is still odd, being so comfortable and familiar with Ichigo. Yet in the cover of privacy, he didn't mind as much. He comes to expect it even though it's only been a little over a week since he admitted his feelings for the obnoxious Shinigami out loud.

"Um… S-so," He watched Ichigo lick then bite his lower lip. The small twitch makes Uryu smile inside that he isn't the only one nervous sometimes. "H-how long have you, uh, liked me?" They haven't spoken with each other about it. Most days they are worn thin after using so much energy during training that they fall asleep almost immediately.

Uryu's throat becomes slightly parched. But he answers anyways, shrugging in the arms enveloping him. "Not sure." He admitted. "Maybe for a while."

"Maybe?"

"Er, probably?"

"Probably?" Was that hope in Ichigo's voice?

His face felt warm again. Why was he telling Ichigo this again? _Maybe because deep inside, I want to. _His nerves started to tingle. The moister in his mouth died out, leaving it completely dry. "Um… I think since the first time I felt your reitsu with the Menos'."

Ichigo was staring at him. _Oh dear god, what did I say?!_ "Wait, that long?"

"I think so." He wants to hide his face. Bury it into the broad chest and not look up. But then he wouldn't be able to see the brilliant smile that brought him to his knees. Or the hypnotic chocolate that he craved like a sugar deprived child.

The dark sun lifted a thin eyebrow at him. "You think?"

There was no sense in denying it. He looked down and to the side. "Well, I didn't really figure it out until after we returned from Hueco Mundo." _And I started dreaming about you._ But he wasn't going to say that. Uryu didn't want Ichigo to know what those dreams were really about either.

"That's still a really long time, Ishida." Ichigo pulled him forward until their noses touched. Something soft and wet pressed against his lips in a swift motion. Uryu felt flushed and a little intoxicated. He was still not used to the gentle, affectionate display the Shinigami seemed to be quite fond of. "Seriously though, why didn't you ever tell me?"

He snorted slightly. "What was I supposed to do, walk up to you and say: 'By the way, Kurosaki, I'm into guys as well and every time I feel your reitsu it makes me hard as hell.'? Yeah, that would go over real well." Ichigo chuckled at him. _Ah shit…_

If possible, the Shinigami pulled them closer. The heat prickling at him, making the sense of intimacy even more sensitive. "I'd probably just end up doing you on the spot." Even in the lack of visibility, he was sure Ichigo could see the red creep up and burn his ears. "What?" He was chuckling again. "You wouldn't have told me that in front of everyone else would you?"

"N-no! Of course not." In truth, Uryu would've picked somewhere secluded but easy to escape from. And he had jumped off using Hirenkyaku from many different places from the school rooftop to chase down Hollows. "But still, public isn't the place to do such things."

Ichigo looked thoughtful. "Hmm, I guess I'd have to take you out to eat, and a movie, before walking you home and caring you to bed?"

"Really, Kurosaki?" He rolled his eyes. "A bit too cliché don't you think?"

The other sighed dramatically. "I couldn't just randomly have sex with you, or go on a normal date, what would I get to do then?"

Uryu opened his mouth to retort and found nothing. He really wasn't sure. All the archer could do was look into the muddled, smiling eyes carefully. "Wait," Something Ichigo said made him curious. "You'd… date me?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't?"

He didn't think he was that desirable. Popular sure, but dateable? _Even the girls in handy-crafts stayed away from me._ It wasn't like he made his preferences known either. And despite being top of his class, he still came running to Ichigo's call. _I guess it really has been Kurosaki all this time, huh?_ The light inside the underground city wavered, slowly turning from the bluish tint to the amber hues. Soon they will be bathed in the warm golden light. It was morning yet again. Another day of training, not knowing when they'll no longer have the luxury of safety. Uryu couldn't help but remember the dream. In the end, will it actually be enough?


End file.
